Unspoken Judgement
by DesirevsNoodles
Summary: Wuya hates her ancestor. Even worse, she moved to live with Chase Young. But what she didn't know was that Chase had it all planned out for her and it's not what you're thinking . WARNING: OC inside. Mainly Heylin characters. A little AU but not entirely. *Slight humour included*. Romance/Humour/Mystery etc.
1. Preface & Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome! If you occasionally enjoy some good humour and can take jokes, this is the story for you. Written in British English spelling.  
**

**A review about my OC:**

_"wow, this is really good! i usually don't like stories with Oc's but this one is amazing, can't wait to read the rest!"_ - 1valleygirl4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.  
**

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Preface

I never did expected that one day those alluring features of his would actually notice me. All I knew was that she was in the way, but she couldn't block his long gaze from over her shoulder. She can _never _stop me. His captivating eyes penetrated mine, as I entered his bedchamber. Silence devoured the atmosphere. I took a further step in.

She held out her arm – straight as a ruler – as she took aim of her target, making me completely restraining any more further movement. Tension was exaggerating more and more as the silence shrouded the whole large room. Only the great pounding of our heartbeats can be heard. Louder...how our heart beats faster than the ticking of the watch.

Anger - hate - revulsion. I knew that if she had withdrawn, I would return the favour to her instead - twice.

My eyes then shifted to observe the weapon she possessed. It was nothing crucial, just a handgun. A branded one too. The black shiny top reflected the revulsion that was undeniably tainted on her visage. Twisted hate, and uncontrollable anger - both blended together, creating a nauseating emotion.

I took another glance over her shoulder to take a last look at him. Was he just going to stand there by his bed and watch me meet my end? It was the final threshold that decides everything - every last corner of the aspect. I was careless.

And as my sight moved back to the insane woman, her pointer finger had concurrently - slowly, very cautiously...pulled the trigger.

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REWIND!

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Chapter 1

Imperceptible Notions

"Stop it!" I cried out. I could just blow up into a thousand shrilling pieces now. Though my company did nothing but idly swaying the bloodstone above my head. It surged as the gold thread that secured the gem ubiquitously oscillated. It was an abomination.

"Why? Can't little girl take a little joke?" The assertive figure teased, pinching the edge of the fastener.

It's not funny, Desira!" I leaned forward and forcefully grasped the bloodstone away from the tomboy, being careful not to detach the stone from its line.

"Yes it is. L-O-S-E-R!" She jested smugly and shaped an L using her thumb and pointer, bringing it close to her forehead. "You're lamer than I thought."

I securely clenched the stone in my hand as I watched the impish girl leaving the room. My face was twisted with vague sadness and unspoken anger. A single droplet formed and gradually lined down the contour of my round cheeks and fell just below my chin, staining the paper beneath me.

The necklace my mother had given me was something really precious to lose. Desira had seized the pendant away when I was brushing my black top which had diminutive eraser bits on it. I had left the pendant on my desk. And my current disposition had left me to isolate myself from the outside world, making me weak to my opponent. Desira had always been the school's bully. Except for the fact that she will get away with it no matter what and how many reports regarding her were launched.

The bell had just gone, and I was the last to leave the aqua painted classroom. I was zipping my shoulder bag to leave before I was unexpectedly interrupted.

"Are you alright Emily?" A suddenly voice trailed off from behind me. I stiffened before rapidly turning to see my lecturer, Miss Wilton standing at my rear with her face filled with delusion. Her sable hair partially covered her visage. I quickly wiped off the traces of water stains on my cheek, "Yes...it's nothing."

Wilton gently placed a hand on my small shoulder, "it's okay. I understand how it is to lose the ones you love the most."

"No, I..."

"Shhh it's okay." She hushed, putting a finger on her lips. "It is a difficult situation. I too couldn't take it when my father left. It was really devastating."

I heaved a defeated sigh. My teacher's erratic misconception had left me rather speechless. My little encounter with the school intimidator was now mistakenly apprehended for a grief. Surely I had had a great loss, but that wasn't the case at the moment. Wilton gave me a little pat on the back before turning around, leaving me to the tranquil of the bare classroom. At that, I picked up my bag's suspender and hung it around my shoulder.

Outside, I was waiting for my transport. I was restless. It was a fairly hot day and there was no considerable shelter. I would constantly glance at my black strapped wristwatch. After what seemed moments of bored rigid waiting, a blue van had finally arrived and stopped just aside the pavement. Finally.

I yanked the front door latch open, adding little excessive strength. "What's wrong?" The driver asked. Concern imbued her tone. "Oh, nothing Aunt Lily. I'm just tired, that's all."

"If there's anything wrong, tell me. I know it's hard to lose them. But you can't stay like that forever."

That's it. I've had enough. First my science teacher, and now my aunty – what's wrong with the unfathomable world? I gave her a sharp threatening glare before fastening the seatbelt across my chest. And then, she drove off home. My Aunt Lily loves children. The younger the better - for her. She'd always told me and my mum that she had wanted to have her own foster home, or nursery. She's not married yet so, I don't know if she's gonna have alot of babies and adopt a dozen more when she is. What I do know is that I won't be living with her by then.

We were literally silent during the rest of the ride home. Only barren splutters would exit the mouth of my recent caregiver. As usual, when I arrive home, I would run for my room and never emerge until dinner or so. But today, before I could flee from my aunt's warm-hearted ramblings, I was pulled back by a sudden clutch.

I stopped on my very tracks and turned to see my red-head aunty. The bright light projected through the window glass shone on her glittery green skirt. She genuinely has lovely caramel shaded hair, but she decided to colour it because apparently she loves 'playing' with colours.

I was already taking a step on the Gothic-designed staircase but restrained from asking why she had done so, and waited for her reason. She looked at me with attentive sympathy in her eyes. I knew this unerringly had to do with my relentless shattering life.

"Your mother had left you a letter before she departed." She was rather whispering softly sympathetic to me, as if it wasn't a righteous matter. Before I could inquire her anything about it, she held out her arm with a neatly folded paper in her hand. "You should go upstairs and read it." She sounded cheerless, like she wasn't willing to tell me this. I grabbed the folded piece carefully and ran up the stairs in a swift motion, sliding my hand along the wooden rail.

As I reached my room, I subconsciously closed the door behind me. It was already a habitual course of action. I impatiently unfolded the letter which was still in my hand. It still had my mother's scent on it. The sweet smell of a dying rose. I glanced briefly and the 'letter' was pretty long. More like a short story to my assumption. I then began to read the top line which had a neat, almost cursive handwriting scribbled on it.

_Dear Emily,_

_It's your mother, Emma. By the time you read this, I should have already been dead. I hope you did not weep for me still for this should already be a month after I left. Do you still have the family bloodstone I gave you? I hope so. Take good care of it and pass it on the following generation. I just wanted to tell you, that I have a new home for you, away from all the seizing memories around you. I know how much you hate living with your aunty, and I want you to be happy. Remember when we went to China? You used to tell me how you'd love to live in a place with your heritage. Now I have good news. I'll be sending you to live there, like you wanted to. I told your aunty about this and she was really upset. She really loves you. But, if you still do want to go to China, read the rest of this letter._

Yes, I do.

_Our family has a well-known friend who lives in China. And I'm afraid it's a 'he'. But I heard there's a lady living with him, so I'm not that worried. I don't know his name though. I hope you'll still think twice about this before moving. But our family has known his family for many generations. And I also heard that he's a famous Tai-Chi Master. Your ancestor used to be really good friends with his family. That's what I was told. I'm sorry if it's nothing similar._

_If you still do want to move out, then tell your aunty. She will contact the owner and inform him. I've never really met him to be honest. But I've seen his picture before in an absolutely old family photograph that your ancestor had left behind. Anyway, do bear in mind; think over thoroughly before deciding to go. You may not think it's a good idea. And also remember, keep the family bloodstone safe._

_Love,_

_Mom._

I gave an inward 'yes' after carefully reading the letter. I really appreciated the escape plan from my mother although it wasn't literally one, but still, anything beats living with my jolly aunty. I had to think this over meticulously, and that was a problematical thing to do, since I'd always make the erroneous decisions. However, I wouldn't want to live with my sensitive aunt for the rest of _her_ life. My neck was stiffing, and I felt the urge to stab something.

No, wait, some_one_ right now. I paid no heed to the thought and rather than pondering, I threw myself until I felt something soft and cosy beneath me. Maybe I would consider it over tomorrow. Besides, it's regarding my choice.

Snugging my pillow close to my visage, my sight then subconsciously hazed, as I fell into my own exotic world.

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**A/N: So how was it? Do you like it? Please review and tell me what you think a/r if there's any good advice you'd like to contribute. Thank you! Oh, and I hope I didn't disappoint any readers with the orientation.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Hasty Verdict

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown but I do own the story plot and OCs.**

**Hello again! I'd like to give huge thanks to my first two wonderful reviewers: writtensofine67 & Chasefan. You girls are awesome ^^**

**Reviews make my day -- instantly! I was in school and when I saw the first two reviews I was soooo happy! And want to write more & faster :p**

**Please Read & Review!**

**P.S. Emily is not a version of me.**

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Chapter 2:

The Hasty Verdict

Unicorns and fairies were flying carelessly across the vivid meadow. The sky was a stretch of light blue with patches of white.

Without further ado, I indubitably knew that this couldn't be home. In the heart of the lush greenery, my aunt Lily was waving idly at me with a pleasant smile plastered on her colourful face. I turned to my left, and I truly -- terribly felt like screaming. There were yellow daisies dancing merrily on the vast land of rich greenery with their roots as feet. I could hear squeals of joy coming out from each one of the grisly atrocities.

Rapidly stood up, I began to perform a dash. Wait! My muscles weren't responding to my sentiments. Slowly, I tilted my head to look down only to find something more dreadful. My feet were both tied up by sleek vines of the daisies. And I thought daisies don't have vines.

My heart was beginning to pound louder and louder by every second passing me. The disgraceful sight appeared once more when the unicorn suddenly came galloping toward me with my aunty on its back. She was humming a nursery rhyme along as the unicorn was neighing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. My right eye twitched and my eardrums were about to burst into a million pieces.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to go deftly blind by the eyesore.

Then I could hear the daisies below me began to sing: "Stay with us. Stay with US! DON'T LEAVE!!!!" Louder...louder...louder!

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!" I opened my eyes. Wait; there were four walls adjacent to each other, all enclosing me. I looked up; the small crystal chandelier above me was still attached. Then I turned and glanced at my side and the letter my mum wrote was still on the red carpet floor. My covers were still wrapped around me. Meow, my aunt's ginger cat was curling up into a fur ball on the study chair opposite me. How did she get in here...of course, the door was slightly gaping. Lily had had her since she had finished high school.

Fortunately, I was dreaming. The conception of a unicorn trying to kill me with nursery rhymes was all a misassumption. Good riddance, it's all just a _nightmare_. I rolled out of the malleable surface I was lying on. A faint thud transpired as I fell on my knees, pulling the sheets along with me to the floor.

I reached for the letter and lolled against my bed frame as briefly read through the inscriptions. How can I decide? It was a somewhat tough decision to consider. Somehow if I continue to stay with my 28 year old aunt who love children, possibilities could vary from nursery to foster home. And I couldn't possibly live with energetic misbehaving children.

I gazed at the paper ahead of me and ran a finger across the sunken ink. _What would happen if I did move out? _That question kept lingering in my mind. I was well-known in my family for making the foremost wrong decisions. And I certainly wouldn't want my mistakes to recur.

I once chose to try and live by myself when my parents were on a business trip and it turned out insane. The kitchen was caught on fire – though it was a small one, but still – because I forgot to turn off the gas. And a relative came and I let her in, only to have her gashed herself from the broken glass I had dropped. Then she got admitted to the hospital because she forgot her medication. And I was to blame. See? I really needed help back then.

And now, I had to make another one. I breathed hard, and thought for a moment. I had also 'accidentally' killed my aunt's hamster before. It was when I came to visit with my mum. She didn't cry her eyes out or anything. But I knew straight after we left, she was mourning hard for the creature. Well, I knew because I saw her through the front window when I was in the car. Anyway...

My mentality flashed back to the unicorn and singing daisies. No, I couldn't bare that. Blooming daisies were fine. But singing? Never.

I snapped another thought. I can understand it lucidly now. The nightmare was some sort of premature warning. The unicorn was a running dog-- I mean an ill-disciplined child. Daisies...were nothing but mere singing juvenile girls. Their hands were vines that could clutch and bother me 24/7.

And that was beyond adequacy. I had made up my mind. I'm going.

I folded the paper and shoved it into the right pocket of my blue jeans. I had to confront my aunt Lily straight away – at least before she turn the abode into a domicile for little adolescents.

I wrenched my bedroom door open and climbed down the set of steps and into the radiantly lit living room. There, my aunty sat on a purple velvet armchair while reading a thick childcare book with her back facing me. I can see her turned her head slightly at the sound of my rapid footsteps.

"Anything wrong dear?" She asked, closing the book in her hands and rose from the chair.

"I umm, I've made my decision..." My voice began to instinctively drift away as soon as I saw her with downcast eyes. Should I tell her, or just leave it off?

"Aunt Lily...I'm sorry. But I want to...go." I said softly. "Why not we just talk about this later at dinner? Or we could always talk about it at some other time." I doubtfully tried to reassure her, but she didn't seem to absorb it at all.

"No, no! Oh, I'm sorry about this, its fine go ahead, tell me your plans. I'm ready to listen to all that you're having in mind." Her shaky eyes met mine. I could sense the reluctant approval to continue in the atmosphere. The bright, kind-hearted Aunt Lily was now nothing but a crestfallen caregiver.

I sighed before continuing, carefully selecting my words inwardly lest if my sentences would offend her. "I want to...move to China...and live with the family friend mum spoke of." I took a deep breath, "I really want to go...Aunt Lily."

I met her eye, gazing at the sparkling diamonds. Was she really going to shed a tear or two for me?

"Aunt Lily...I–"

"No, it's fine. It's just that..." she covered part of her face and sniffed, "I won't be able to see you more often, don't you think?"

I was surprised. She actually hid her sorrowful emotions from me. But I wouldn't want to see her ruin her make-up and wet her blouse either. "Alright, I'll inform and tell them that you want to go. Umm, when do you reckon?"

I simply shrugged.

"How about, as soon as you're ready to go?" she suggested, taking out her mobile from the little pocket on her skirt. Her voice was a little merrier now. Perhaps she had seen the bright side of this hasty verdict.

I nodded, "Are you going to tell him now?"

"Oh, of course. Just to let him know that you're coming. Won't be till you're ready to go." Flicking through the hundred pages of her large phone book on the side table, she finally came to halt at the very end of the book.

And I waited, as she began to dial something off it.

"Hello? Hi there, umm... Mr...Young?....." I couldn't really make out a word she was saying after that. Mumbling, actually. I can hear the reluctant tone she had. And the fact that my mum did not state his name – which was a very basic thing – in the letter, made it hard for me to comprehend wether 'Young' was his first or last name. Since my aunty usually called people by their first names.

I was bored, and felt like stabbing pillows. To be honest, I always do that whenever I feel the disturbing aura of pure boredom. And no kidding, my aunt had to buy over three pillows every month. I told her the cat scratched it. And she believed me. I know I'm a terrible liar – but it works on her!

After a few nods and comprehension, she finally hung up. It was as if she was being told instead of describing and providing information about me.

She sighed as her hazel eyes gazed thoughtfully at me. "You should go up and pack your luggage, dear." her voice was soft and timid, as if there was something wrong. And now, it was my turn to inquire her, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, umm...he wants you to be there by tomorrow..."

What? Tomorrow? I can't be a bat out of hell to complete my packing in just one night. Now I have second thoughts. "But, but can't you tell him that I'll come once I'm done packing up?"

She shook her head.

"Well, he said that he expects you to be there by tomorrow. I'm sorry dear. Then he hung up." She threw me a compassionate look.

Sighing in defeat, I headed for the flight of stairs and slightly turned my head to my right before beginning to climb up. "I'll see you tomorrow then..."

She nodded.

And so I ran up into my cryptic room to pack up for the hasty decision I had made. And I tentatively have an ill feeling about the whole determination -- Only time will tell what lies ahead.

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**A/N: Below is the formerly third chapter turned out longer than the previous ones. And the writing language starts to loosen up a bit (means less confusing words.) On with the story:**

"Emily..."

I always hear voices calling out my name, years ago. And as creepy as it sounds, I'm hearing it again. The soft, soothing tone it had.

"Emily..."

Very peculiar. But as far as I'm concerned, it wasn't going away. Which was really getting me aggravated.

"Emily..."

I could feel my whole body wobbling now. How weird could my mind get? Surely I'm not metalized, but there shouldn't be any physical disturbance too.

..

..

"EMILY!!!!!!"

..

"JUST SHUT UP!!!!" I yelled as I jerked up, and opened my eyes abruptly – all in one swift motion and breath. It consumed a lot of energy, really.

I subconsciously slapped my mouth when I saw who it actually was. "Err...s-sorry Aunt Lily..." Damn, did I just shout at my light-hearted Aunt Lily? My eyes were wide, as if I encountered a ghost. She was looking back at me in shock – utter shock. I swear I thought I was hearing things – again.

Her face then returned to the sweet, caring expression she had always had – after realising that I just woke up from a deep slumber.

"It's already 9 in the morning dear..." she said gently.

"Oh, that's fine..." but why would she— oh wait— stuffed – crap!!! I haven't even pack up my belongings yet!

"Are you okay?" Lily broke the silence. I was inwardly cursing myself dreadfully, but I knew she could feel something was wrong.

"I—umm, yeah...what time will I be going?" I asked, still sitting on my bed.

"I'll send you to the airport at 10. You better go get breakfast. I'll be downstairs waiting. Where's your luggage? Let me bring it downstairs for you." She offered, looking around the room with a gesture.

"No— I mean, I'll bring it with me later. I umm, I need to stuff something into. I'll see you at breakfast?" I said, stretching my mouth and gave her a wide convincing smile.

"Why, of course dear." She giggled at my clumsy wake. "I'll see you then." And she headed for the door. I never smile to her by will, so I wasn't surprised if she felt happy for that. And how many times have she called me 'dear'? It's starting to freak me out now.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, I made a 360 degree roll out of bed – and literally fell on my back – and that led out a faint thud. Honestly, it kind of hurt. Then, I dashed to the other corner of my room, where my wardrobe stood elegantly. I yanked the doors open, and quickly grab the red suitcase beside it. Rapidly unzipping it – which had gotten stuck many, many times – I stuffed all the folded clothes into the huge bag. I seriously don't know what I threw in there.

I was simply filling the space and threw everything I could into it. My breathing pattern was irregular. I was like a maniac grabbing things in my wake from one corner of the room to another while thrashing everything into one innocent crimson bag.

And soon, the bag was full. And the room was _almost_ empty. I didn't have a lot of things anyway. I still had some things I couldn't toss it into the bag but it wasn't really priceless to me. So I decided to leave it behind – for the little rug rats soon to come – I mean little nice children.

I really had nothing against children to be honest – only the misbehaving ones – but I couldn't take care of them like a good teenage girl can so I wouldn't want to be near one. The last time I came face to face with a little girl was with my mum – again. We came across her friend and her daughter in front of our house's sidewalk.

While my mum was greeting her friend, I held out a hand to the little girl, but she grabbed my hand and twisted it instead – and clung onto her mum. Surprisingly, my mum and her friend just laughed at the event, while I inwardly cursed the little girl and struggle the pain around my wrist. When I glanced back at the little girl, she was giggling – at me.

Out of the blue, I heard a knock on the door.

I glanced at the yellow clock on the wall – 9.15a.m. Stuffed! I'm behind schedule and now my aunt must've had come to call me for breakfast.

"Emily! It's already 9.15 you should be having your breakfast by now." She called out worriedly from behind the shut door.

"Coming!" I exclaimed while began to zip my bag. Damn it, it won't close! I tried pushing it within itself but it didn't seem to work. Then, I started to sit on it, and pushed it in – compacting it.

Thankfully, it worked. I pulled the latch out and stroll it toward the door. Am I still wearing the black top from yesterday? Oh, stuff it already. I was already late. I'll just change when I reach my new home. I didn't smell awful anyway.

I took one last look around my second home. Then, I paced outside of the room, leaving the door open behind me.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs while awkwardly carrying the big baggage, Aunt Lily came and reached for the bag from my hands. "I'll help you with that. Now quick, go get breakfast!" she sounded rushed and placed the bag beside the front door.

Entering the dining room, I gulped the glass of apple juice on the round table and grabbed the toast on the plate, biting it between my teeth. Then I ran back to the front, where my Aunt Lily was grabbing the car keys and things related.

"Are you okay?" she enquired, looking concerned at my heaving breathing.

I took the toast out of my mouth. "Yeah. Just a little....nevermind...let's go." I sighed.

She drove off to the airport pretty quick. And I made it in time for my flight. Well, I was quite late, but not _awfully_ late.

I had to wait ten minutes before entering the airplane. There was a long line at the custom entrance.

I took a last – well I don't know – moment with my aunty. She seemed truthfully upset of my departure.

"So...this is it, I guess." I said, before lining up for the custom.

"J-just, don't forget to call me every now and then okay." Her voice was trembling – it could break anytime right now. "When you arrive there, someone will pick you up. I'm not sure who but the person's name is Jack Spicer and he should know y-your n-name." She stuttered the last two words, before engulfing.

She gave me a huge – tight – and warm hug, almost suffocating me – and a sudden rush of guilt flow through my veins as I heard her quiet snivelling over my shoulder. Did I really mean that much to her?

Then she released me. "Okay dear...you should go now." She briefly ran her hand through my hair and took a step back. "Be a good girl alright?"

I nodded.

"Don't worry Aunt Lily, I'll be fine – and so will you." I said, giving her a slight smile.

I occasionally glanced at her as I went through the custom glass. Her eyes were shaky -- gazing – as she waved idly at me.

I waved back, until she was no longer in visible sight.

The rest of the flight went pretty good. I spent the whole hours looking through the small window beside me. And hours of watching the bright sky slowly turning into dark as the time zones switched. The stars were magnificently sparkling above.

The seat next to me was bare. So I occasionally lay down along the two seats. 4 hours before landing, dinner came. I frowned when the only food I received was a crumbed coated drumstick with plain floral rice and a plastic cup of sky juice. _Wonderful _– economy class, what can you expect?

I couldn't sleep the whole trip. I was nervous, worried – anxious! I wasn't even informed of what's the name of the guy I'm going to live with. I only knew that either his first or last name was Young. And the fact that the person picking me up soon is also a _guy _and his name is Jack Spider?And merely that.

After the plane landed, I quickly went through the customs and waited for my luggage at the baggage area. It took ten minutes until my bag actually came out from under the black flaps.

I waited outside at the entrance of the airport after luggage collection. It was pretty busy. The vast stretch of sky in my wake was a beautiful blend of orange-red.

"Excuse me, are you...Emily?" A voice called out at my rear. I almost jumped in unpredicted shock. I turned instantly only to see a red-head boy with literally white skin. He was wearing a black trench coat with weird goggles on his hair. A boy my age I was guessing. Only he was slightly taller than me – a few inches by a rough look.

"Yes I am." I simply answered him. "Are you Jack Spider?"

"It's Spicer..." he corrected me. "Oh, sorry...my bad."

"Please come with me." He instructed, and gestured to a sporty sleek black car behind him. My jaws almost gawped open, but I managed to maintain my calm state. Surely my aunt's a rich single – but she doesn't have a sporty black car that clearly reflects viewers on its shiny finishing.

Score one for whoever his girlfriend is – if he even had one. He took my suitcase into the remote controlled boot and I made my way into the passenger seat. There were various switches on the dashboard. It didn't really seem like a _normal_ car. But anyway... I fastened my seatbelt.

Seconds later, he entered the car, pushing several switches before taking off into the roads of China...

Our journey you asked? Well, it was _absolutely_ silent. Except that he would occasionally hum something under his breath. I was too eagered to look outside – the beautiful lights and all. But I was also nervous – very, very nervous of this sudden change of abodes.

-----

About an hour later, he unexpectedly pushed a yellow button. In absolute amazement, the land below me started to seem farther away. I was quite panicked and clutched the leather seat below me, until he suddenly broke the wall of silence between us. "Don't worry; we won't be flying up high. But if we want to reach _his_ lair, we gotta go by flight." He assured me. Lair? He sure had an awkward choice of language. The sky was already dark. And my eyelids seemed to get heavier every moment.

I glanced out the glass beside me. He was right, it wasn't too elevated. We were merely above a scenic forest.

I almost screamed when I turned back to face the front. I thought a monster was going to eat the car or something – but it was a volcano's front, carved into a shape of a fierce monstrous face, with an opened mouth with stoned fangs. There was only a small amount of solid land at the wake of the vicious-looking gawping mouth. It was so cool. Wait; is that someone's home or a recreational place?

The car gradually started to descend in height. "Hey, are we landing?" I doubtfully enquired.

"Yup. Welcome to Chase Young's palace." He said presentably, while landing the flying car. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Holy crap. Did he just say Chase _Young's_ palace? And what did he meant by _palace_?

As soon as we landed in the middle of the open space, he quickly unfastened his seatbelt and exited the car. I did the same and stepped out into the night breeze. The wind blew occasionally – gently hitting my face.

I grinned at the wonderful atmosphere I was breathing in. A perfect, peaceful site with Mother Nature surrounding me. How calm and wonderful the world can be when not disturbed by human beings.

He took out my luggage and ambled to the front of the gigantic carved mouth. A stark trail of light came out of nowhere and outlined a square from the stoned wall in front of us, and the wall abruptly flew open and slammed into....poor Jack. I grabbed my luggage and pulled it closer to me, while examining if the boy was okay. Afterward, I turned back to face the front.

Truly, extraordinarily amazed at my sight, I led out a lengthy wow. Inside the eerie looking mouth, lied a beautiful, utterly amazing place. My jaw subconsciously dropped open. A love for nature -- little shrubs were present. There were waterfalls around the large space. Flight of stairs were positioned in the centre of all wonderful things. A placed filled with serenity and unspoken tranquillity. I was speechless.

Out of the blue, Jack squeezed out from behind the ingress and straightened himself up. "Hello? Anyone home?" he stuck his head into the wondrous domicile. But why wouldn't he step a foot inside?

Then a voice suddenly called out, "Come in, Spicer..." and trailed off. It was a calm, yet demanding tone.

I looked around but there was no one, until I shifted my gaze at the top of the flight of steps. There, a figure leisurely descended down the staircase.

"Oh, hi...Ch-Chase. Here's the girl you want me to pick up?" Jack stuttered. I looked at him. He sounded as if he feared something...or some_one._

I swiftly turned back my gaze to the figure when I heard the name _Chase_. And when things were more visible, I was quite surprised to see a built guy wearing distinctive armour. He was exotic – literally. He was fairly young, despite his last name. Probably in his twenties. You would step aside if a guy walked past you with waist length hair. But my encounter? It wasn't even _close_ to weird. It was colloquially spoken: awesome and coolness.

There was something else...something, unique and captivating about him. I couldn't really notice what it was.

"You must be Miss Emily." A voice snapped. A broke out from my unintentional gaze and slightly jolted when he was standing right before me.

"Yes. Yes I am." I replied. Now I could comprehend what was so appealing about him – his exquisite golden eyes!

"And you are Mr. Chase...Young?" I asked him back.

"You figured that out earlier than I expected..." his voice was cold, low and charming...but icy cold. If only _voices _and looks could kill, I'd be long dead by now.

"Well, isn't that your name?" I asked, raising a brow. Instead of answering me, he turned his back at me. What the heck?

"Come with me." He ordered. I was too terrified not to follow his command. There was something about him the made me to undoubtfully follow his instruction. I had never really adhered to directions of someone I barely recognise. But what made me abide to him?

I silenced myself and quickly trailed after him. It seemed like a new start for me – a very, very unfamiliar inception.

* * *

**'Meow' the ginger cat is actually a reference to my cat :) I had her since I was a little girl. She used to be fat, but now she's really skinny...**

**Thanks to Writtensofine67 for being a wonderful reader and reviewer(hint, hint) ;)**

**I really like how the body of this chapter turned out. But I'm not quite glad with the end. Not really a cliffhanger aye? But anyhow, this chapter was getting really long, so I had to end it somewhere. And I also didn't want my readers to wait for Chase to appear. But I can guarantee you that next chapter is filled with Chase Young-ness XD So....now it's time to review please? (puppy pout) :3**

**I started and finished this chapter in one day especially for my readers. And I'd love it if it's well apreciated with a review. Reviews make me update faster. And make my day as well as love my silent readers. (Anonymous reviews is abled.)**

**Peace!**


	3. Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The Tiger, The Witch and The Albino.

WE PASSED VARIOUS TREMENDOUS HALLWAYS with many doors until he suddenly came to a halt in front of one of them. I almost walked into him really. As well as tripping over my own luggage which I was pulling after me. For I was too mesmerised by the scenic abode he possessed, though he wouldn't notice my clumsy act.

Without further ado, he opened the ingress, revealing something more than remarkable. A room – fairly large – and well-furnished.

Looking around with wide eyes, it was a room only one expected to see in a dream land. The bed was carved from teak wood and of canopy design, made up with black and red sheets of silk. On the bed however, were abundant fluffy pillows placed neatly by the top. The floors were constructed of white marble tiles as were the walls. There was a balcony just after the bed, there merely for a lookout. Looking up, the light above came from a stunning chandelier, with crystals hanging from it, projecting significant saffron light into the room. A fine teak dresser positioned by the far right wall alone by itself.

I turned to see him smirking at my astonished temperament. "Is this your room?" I asked.

To my surprise, he chuckled. "No..." he folded his arms. "This is _your_ room."

I inwardly awed at the sight as I walked around the room, inspecting every single detail. Above the chandelier was a painting of the sky, which was a dark blue at the moment with miniature stars to represent the current time of day. I was so preoccupied with the exquisite of the room that I failed to see in front of me, causing me to run into a door. Rubbing my head and groaning in pain – and in shame, I looked at the door in front of me and proceeded to open the door.

My jaw dropped open – again.

This was the bathroom. Lively white sat below a large mirror. The faucet and handles were golden. The tub was a large circle and was made of the same material as the sink, and was large enough to fit six girls my size. There was a small period of silence, until I was startled,

"Dinner is in 15 minutes. Don't be late." He said in his cold voice, and then disappeared into the hallway.

I shrugged and began to pull my crimson suitcase – which was left in the hallway – into the room and closed the carved door behind me. I was enlightened by my new home. Not just because the room I'm placed in was remarkable, but the place itself – outdoor and indoor. Even my former neighbour's home couldn't beat this wondrous accommodation.

Despite the grumpy looking Chase, whom which I barely know...I wouldn't think anything could go wrong from now on except for one thing I still doubted about – are there any small rowdy children living here?

After much immersing myself to the furnished room, I began to unpack my belongings. Unzipping, a great amount of clothes and other things suddenly came vomiting out of the bag. I led out a stark scream when the clothes overlapped me in a passing second. Now most of my clothes were scattered chaotically on the spotless white marbled floors. Standing up, I heaved a sigh of defeat and began to pick up the disordered clothes – one by one.

My eyelids soon started to feel heavier by every moment, causing me to keep jerking back and forth. I knew exactly want I wanted now – a nice comfy nap. Chase told me to be at dinner in 15 minutes which was another 10 more minutes anyway. The tired trip had gave me more than one emotion – usually I would just feel appreciative and mesmerised when on a holiday overseas. But now it was a mixed of various unexplainable emotions. Though, I do miss my Aunt Lily back at home. She was very caring of me, even though I never really cared about her, to be frank. But I've decided, and it's final.

I made my way to the tempting looking large bed and plopped myself onto it. And it was just nice – not too soft nor too hard for the spine. The pillows...were feather filled, promising contentment of unobstructed slumber. And the last thing I recalled doing afterward was snuggling my pillows closer to me, before my eyes starting to close.

Damn it, I'm feeling one of those physical kinesis crap again. Of something furry...grazing my cheek...Like Meow's fur but only thicker...

I abruptly opened my eyes, and was almost scared out of my wits when I saw something life-threatening right in front of my _very_ eyes, lying _very_ closely to my nose.

I jolted up and screamed, and merely that – continuously and didn't stop as I saw a real breathing giant cat – or commonly called, a tiger...looking at me.

"AHHHHH! Get away from me!" Leaping up and standing on the far side of the bed, I grasped anything I could see and feel in my wake then threw it at the animal.

It didn't seem to work, realising that I solely threw pillows at the stubborn creature. "AHHHHHHHH!" I needed help. Not mentally but physically – and not in THAT way.

It did nothing but roared at me fiercely because of the useless attacks I carried out. It didn't jump onto the bed, thank goodness. But it still did look at me with its death-causing sharp eyes and was terribly furious at me.

Like a damsel in distress, I clutched onto the bed's smooth wooden rod and clasped it tightly – while screaming, of course.

And then, I led out a really long, ear crunching shriek, "HELP!"

"What on Earth is going on in here?!"

The both of us – me and the tiger – stopped our motions and noises at once while concurrently shifting our gazes to the direction of the voice.

It was Chase Young by the door, seeming acutely angered.

"There's a tiger in my room! What do you think?!" I blurted out, frightened, while pointing at the tiger.

He brought his hand to his forehead and began to rub his temples. Did he think I was crazy? Or maybe I was having an imaginary 'friend' with me? Well I wasn't.

"There is nothing to be afraid of. This is one of my servants. I sent him here to call your for dinner _20_ minutes ago." He sounded calmer now, but still talking in that charming voice of his. But then again, he sounded kind of pissed.

"Your what?!" I couldn't believe my ears...servants? It's a TIGER. Not a maid! This place's getting weirder, despite the imposing decorations. And then there was a silence.

"Hello!" I waved my hand at him as I broke the stark muteness. "This is a freakin' _tiger_!"

"Come. I'll explain everything later." He motioned me to follow him and exit the room with the giant cat following him.

I slowly jumped off my new bed and trailed behind them while carefully keeping my distance with the tiger. Who knew if it could just pound on me with its large body and chew my face off? I hope not.

Taking different routes this time, we ended up in front of a large, engraved medieval designed iron door. He pushed it opened, and it exposed a grand looking hall – which was fairly empty – except for the long rectangular dining table at the centre of the circular place. Feasting at the table however, was the red-headed boy who previously brought me here and...someone else...

It's a lady, who's about Chase's height, and she has very long red hair. Could she be the mother of the boy? She was wearing a long black cheongsam with purplish red outlines at the end of the sleeves. And she wore quite thick make-up though...I bet this was the lady that mum had stated earlier in the letter. Or maybe the wife of Chase perhaps? But the boy had really pale skin and doesn't even look like them at all. Soo...totally not _his _son, but I still wonder about the lady being the mum...

Chase walked toward the grander chair right at the other side of the table, with his hands planted neatly on his back. I followed, and was _going to_ sit at the chair opposite him, but when I dragged the chair out, he motioned me to sit at the chair next to him instead.

I simply abide to his order. At this time, I wouldn't want to be irreverent, yet. Without further delay, I walked toward the chair next to him – which was opposite the red-haired lady – and hauled it using both hands. And obviously, she stared at me as I sat down – since I _was_ something new. Jack didn't really look at me, but dug in his...what seemed to be fried rice with largely sliced onions on it.

Ignoring the gaze, I glanced at Chase's and the lady's meal, then examined the white plate before me. It was exactly the same food and drink – which was plain water – like everyone else's. Except that the onions on my dish was slightly smaller. And that Chase had this bowl of soup at his side of the table. But that didn't really matter, really. What matters was that the lady was _still _staring at me. It was really disturbing, and not mention, VERY rude.

Neither staring nor glaring was my nature. I hate staring. And most particularly, I dislike STARERS. I mean, come on, it's not like I had two noses or ten eyes to look at. Inwardly shrugging the notion off, I preliminarily played with my food – actually, examining it, in case.

Line clear and I scooped the first bite – gradually, gradually, and into my barely opened mouth. Holy crap! It's a delicacy! Who made this pleasant tasting fried rice...? This was the best in its kind that I've had ever tasted.

The dinner carried on really inaudible, initially. Then _she_ decided to start a chaffer.

"So...Chase, is this the girl you said who lost her family and all?" the lady spoken, cocking a brow at him. I felt quite angry at hearing that. She spoke of it as if it was a common thing to discuss about.

"She's the last descendant of Lee's family." He replied calmly.

Lee was my great grandad's name. Though, I've had only met him once. Even though he was really old, he was a really respected elder. My mum told me that he used to be a skilled fighter in his early ages, following the steps of his former generations.

"Doesn't look strong like Lee at all." The lady murmured.

I stopped eating and glared at the rude lady, wondering if her name was as discourteous as her.

"This is Wuya." Chase started, "she's my affiliate."

"What about me? I'm your evil buddy too right?" Jack snapped out, sounding quite desperate. And what did he mean by 'evil buddy'?

Chase slapped his forehead, and the lady shook her head in dismay.

"By the way, I'm Wuya, the powerful Heylin witch. It's a pleasure to meet you Emily." More like a bitch to me. But anyway, I didn't turn to look at the person next to me, but I could see from the corner of my eyes that she was smiling pompously.

The rest of the dinner went _almost _silent. I restrained from answering or taking part in any conversation the witch had implied me with. I solely shrugged and nodded idly at everything.

I finished dinner subsequently to Jack, and waited for someone to tell me what to do afterward. I wouldn't want to lose direction in this seemingly huge place. I merely sat down and rested my chin in my hand and drew invisible patterns on the table with a finger while waiting for the prim Chase to finish.

"Hey, Emily, wanna go for a walk?" Jack overcame the silence.

I halted my motions and thought for a moment. I assumed that the 'walk' must be in the stunning abode, since it was quite a place that requires a lot of travelling to reach a place. Rather than sitting doing nothing and listening to the self-proclaimed 'powerful witch', why not do something else?

But before I could answer, Chase interjected the offer, "You must be in your room by ten. I don't want anyone walking around later than that." I nodded and the both of us walked out of the dining hall.

**-Continuation of part 2 (just added)-**

"So...what brings you here?" the red-head boy asked, dipping his feet into the azure liquid beneath him. We didn't have a long walk actually. I told him I wasn't bothered to go anywhere after we arrived in the main hall. Then I sat down on the edge of the waterfall, taking in the beauty of the unique place.

"Something...that I wouldn't want to talk about. Why?" I turned and look at him.

"Oh, nothing...just wondering." He murmured under his breath. But I could still make out the words he said. "I'm Jack Spicer by the way, Evil Boy Genius!" he proclaimed with determination. I giggled inwardly.

"Well how long have you known Chase for?" he queried.

I sightly chuckled at the question. "When I first saw him today?" I said in an obvious manner. It was pretty funny for me, considering that I've only known him for a day.

He turned to look at me. "Woah, you serious? Then how come he knows you?" he asked, looking quite surprised. He was making little swirls with his feet, causing circular waves in the clear water.

I stood up, "Umm, family friend? I don't know." I shrugged. "It's really complicated. Why don't you just ask him?"

He frowned and looked back down. Did I say something wrong? I bit my lower lip and sat back down next to him. Should I tell him about my boring life? I need someone to let it all out, honestly.

"Can you keep secrets?" I blurted out of the blue.

He looked at me, rather shocked at my query. "Sure," he shrugged, "What's up?"

"Well, actually, I came to live here because...my...umm, parents are...well...they...umm they passed away." I rubbed my arm nervously. I couldn't cry though. I thought I would, but I didn't. Truly, I still wasn't over it, but I just couldn't shed a tear right now.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." He apologised sheepishly. "I think I shouldn't ask why they are umm..."

"No."

There was a brief silence between us, until he suddenly broke the invisible wall of muteness. "So...you _do_ know Chase?"

"No, actually...my mum left a letter telling me I have the option wether to live with my aunt or this family friend, who is Chase..."

"And you decided to live here..." he trailed off. "If you don't mind me asking...are you of Chinese heritage?" I nodded.

"Well, half...but I'm still proud of it. My mum used to tell me that my ancestors were great fighters and warriors and crap. But I think my great grand dad's the last of its kind because my grandma wasn't even capable of climbing a mountain." I heaved a heavy sigh, "But I'm more useless than that. Even though, I hate girlish stuff." I threw my hands mid-air, defeated by my confessions. Why was I telling him all of this? It's not like I even know him or anything. But it was something I couldn't really share with anyone – but only who really cared to listen.

"Hmm, do you know that Chase is an awesome tai chi master? Maybe your great grandad knows him from there."

I looked at him for an instance, contemplating his words. "He must be very young when he met my great grandfather then. Chase I mean."

"Chase? Young? Well that is his name but he isn't as young as you think he is." He chuckled. I only stared at him in confusion. What the heck did he mean by that?

"You mean he _is_ young, right?"

This time, the red-head laughed hard.

"No! He's like freakin' old as! CHASE YOUNG IS FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS OLD! AHAHAHA!" he was rather laughing hysterically, and snorting occasionally in the motion. But my gaze instantly shifted to something else – something behind him.

Big mistake.

Chase Young was standing right behind him, listening to most of his 'jokes', I figured. I kept silent and looked down, hoping he'll get the message.

"Oooo he thinks he's soooo powerful! He can't even find a girl for him for...1500 years! Chase Young isn't THAT awesome after all! And I just realised! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Okay, judging by Chase's expression, he's really gonna die.

"Ehem." Chase cleared his throat. I kept silent and bit my lower lip, hoping I won't get involved. Jack slowly turned, and in a swift motion, he was already on his knees.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" He pleaded to the really pissed-looking Chase, who's crossing his arms firmly against his chest.

I wouldn't be cruel to exploit that I was innocent after everything I'd heard. But it was barely easy to avoid, especially since I have sensitive hearing. Jack this, Jack that, Jack bla bla bla and Chase kept calling the poor boy 'insect' – or whatever he meant by that.

But still, he was human, and the fact that he's pale white, was none of my concern. But what's my concern now was that Jack exited through the unobtrusive stone door we entered earlier. And now that the lecture had ended, what would become of me?

"Emily."

"Yeah?" I turned my head swiftly and answered wearily, exhausted from hearing his lecture to the boy.

"I'm expecting you to be at your rest by now." He wasn't stating, he was commanding, in his cold, sleek voice. And so I faithfully abided – like I always did before, without knowing why I did so.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is just telling how her first impression of the place was.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Book

Chapter 4

The Book

I slipped into my pyjamas, which was just a plain beige T-shirt and burgundy shorts. Then I finally tucked myself to bed. It was pure bliss. As natural as it came, everything was just right – the pillows, the sheets, the soft bouncy surface below me. Actually, it wasn't too soft or too hard – it was the perfect comfort needed for any desired contentment.

My eyelids weren't heavy, at all. I couldn't sleep. Nor was I thinking of my parents, and anything about them. My mind was lingering about something else...something new. I was restless, as I twirled around my sides impatiently.

Why was I thinking about...Chase Young? I was thinking of how he commanded me to do his every biding, and I followed without protest. I always did protest when an instruction's thrown at me, but not his.

I couldn't sleep.

And that was final. No second thoughts if I would fall into a slumber, because I won't. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the shut door. I glanced at my alarm clock on my side table – which I brought from home – and shocked to see that it was already 4a.m.

I threw the sheets off and headed for the door. Slowly, slowly...I turned the handle, and as the hinges repelled, an annoying familiar figure was revealed in my wake.

"Yes, Wuya?"

"Aren't you going to let me in?" She cocked a brow and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's...like four in the morning now. What do you want?" I didn't sound friendly, or rude. It was neither. But I was really sure that I didn't feel any respect toward the lady in front of me. Fur was the last thing I had in mind.

"I'm here to tell you about a few things Chase wants you to know before dawn."

I simply shrugged as a gesture for her to continue.

"At six, you have to be ready for the day. At eight, you _must_ be at breakfast. And if you ever wish to exit this place, you must inform me or Chase."

"Can't you tell me this at breakfast and not now? Just wake me up at six or whatever. Are you like a night crawler or something?" I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"I couldn't sleep, thinking that a descendent of Lee's is here. I could hardly even do anything!" she raised her voice – Grabbing a handful of her hair and messing it with her fist. But that wasn't my concern at the moment. What was important was that why was my freaking deceased great great great whatever granny (I lost count) troubling her so much?

And without delay, I slammed the door in her face.

A really irritating encounter I supposed. Not that I didn't like her. Well, I think I didn't but she was far more than disturbing. What's up with my ancestor and her? Like she'd even met Lee before.

* * *

Six in the morning. There, I woke up at six in the morning. Then I fell back to sleep.

After Wuya had talked to me, I felt really sleepy and tired, and that made me fall asleep for two hours.

And now at 7.45 a.m., I woke again. But this time, I didn't fall back to sleep. Instead, while still wearing my beige shirt and shorts, I headed straight to breakfast.

I managed to reach the dining hall without getting lost. At the dining hall, there was only Chase, sitting on his grander chair and sipping on what seemed to be like soup – or anything similar to that.

"Good morning Emily." He greeted in his icy voice as I walked toward the chair I sat yesterday. He sounded as if he was if in a better mood today, but I wasn't sure though. Considering that I just met him, anything couldn't be true.

"Morning." I answered back flatly.

I waited for my food. Then a tiger similar from yesterday came from my rear. I nearly had a shock attack, but I didn't. But I did jerked and shrieked a little when it brought a bowl of soup noodles on a tray using it's jaws.

"Don't worry, these jungle cats are my slaves. They won't hurt you."

"You don't have cats as slaves. Especially _wild_ cats." I bluntly stated.

"These are fallen warriors that have fought with me. And they swore their eternal loyalty to me." He explained smugly.

I never believed these Darwin theories – ever. And now someone sitting right next to me was saying that humans turned into _cats_. Freaky, and creepy – especially since I loved cats. But it was undoubtedly weird how his 'cat slaves' were able to carry stuff around and not mess up orders.

Weird, but true.

Ignoring the thought, I dug into the bowl of soup noodles in front of me. It was pretty silent the first few minutes. Only the sound of sipping, chewing, and cutlery clinging could be heard.

"Have you met Lee before?" he queried out of a sudden, breaking the awkward silence between us.

I merely shrugged. "You think? Considering that she's my _ancestor_ and passed away before I was born, I don't think so. Oh, and I'm sure you haven't either, so it make sense if I have never, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't make sense, considering that I have met Lee before."

"You what?!"

"I _have_ met Lee before." I instantly stopped eating when I heard the emphasis he had in his voice.

"But you weren't even born yet when she passed away." I was beginning to think that he was insane, or close enough to become one. But I was also dealing with mad notions and comprehensions – which could all be true – at once.

He sipped on some of his tea before digging in his breakfast. "Apparently I was born before she even was." he stated as if it was an obvious statement. Then he continued to sip a little more of his tea.

I was freaked out – totally freaked out – by his careless facts and logic in his sentences. What was he trying to prove? That's enough to have me knocked out of words. I was almost speechless. The very frustrating fact was that I had always have slow response and riposte whenever I'd be caught in an awkward or embarrassing situation.

He merely laughed a very silent laughter, and smirking smugly while sipping some soup. How hallucination had got me – I didn't even question his remarkable devilish smile. Instead, I sat silent in my chair -- slumping -- and started chewing on the soft noodles.

* * *

I walked down several hallways that I've never seen before. One time I was in a refreshing hallway with splendid arc views of waterfalls and the next, I was walking past volcanic lava cascades. It was like a maze. The whole place – I had the feeling I'd been here and there before, but it was all completely different. Immediately after I finished my meal, I dashed out of the dining room before Chase could even question my daily errands. He left me looking like a fair idiot who didn't know how long people live – and that's all needed to mess up my day. I'm ruined.

My head suddenly ache as I bumped into something rather stoic. I looked up, and there it was – a large, tall iron door in my face. How could've I missed it? Impatient, I reached for the small gold handle that had little fancy swirls on it. Now the hallway I was standing in was just as plain and dull as it was luxury. Mostly the furniture – which was only a chaise lounge and an end table – was plain green rod iron, with finely carved tiger legs.

I decided inwardly that the entire mansion – or more like a palace – was just a plain dull and boring wealth. Not to mention lonely and silent most of the time. It's true, kids were noisy creatures, but they keep you company and livened up.

I took a step further, into the door's small opening. My heavy eyes instantly widened themselves when a huge amount of bookcases – filled with only books – surrounded me. There was even a grand crystal chandeliar hanging directly from above the centre of the room, projecting radiant light into most of the room.

I scouted the place – with a mouth half awed – and soon came by an unusual shelf. It was all packed with books – very, very old books – that even my granny couldn't even have been around them at the time. I slowly picked out a random book from the tall oak shelf. The cover was scarlet – faded scarlet – and only had a short line scribbled on it.

_Master Sheng Foo_

I flipped to the first page, hoping to see an interesting outcome from the title, but only to have cramped scribblings of black ink. I couldn't make out the words from it. Maybe it wasn't meant to be read by public. I closed the book and shoved it back into its place and picked out another random book from the lower shelf.

This book was entirely navy blue. Of course, faded, but still. And on the front, was quite similar from the previous book, only now it spelled

_Master Shania Linn_

I carefully flicked to the first page. It was really disheartening, possibly because the only thing I saw was once again, a messily scribbled page with words I couldn't really make out. I slammed the book close, and angrily put it back to its shelf. What was I doing? Reading books from the senseless owner's library?

I was going to leave the library, but I didn't. Something caught my eye – a book sticking out of its shelf, as if somebody had carelessly put it back in. I looked over to see a lonely green book from the same shelf as the faded scarlet book, but was far at the end. No wonder I missed it.

I impatiently pulled it out, and glided my fingers across the soft velvet cover. It had no title or name on it, but as I flickered over to the first page, there was something far more interesting. Several pages were torn, but within the fade inks, were words that were hardly abled to make out, but I _can _actually understand it somehow.

_Then there was Chase, and a few of his friends, running across the meadow __battling__ and running away from some __rock creatures__ & minions summoned by Wuya. Guan __held my hand__ and he helped me escape, but he left Chase __and Lee. They couldn't run away__._

So many strikethroughs! What was this writer trying to say? And why was Lee's name in it? But it could be any Lee. Considering that I was in _China_.

I was going to read more, until someone patted me on the shoulder...

I rapidly turned to its direction and...It was Wuya.

"What are you doing here?" she asked demandingly.

I cocked a brow, "I'm checking out books, how obvious is that?"

She looked quite pissed at me, but then again, I was pissed at her for making fun of _me_.

"You know you're not supposed to read those books. _Especially_ that one." She pointed out to the book I was holding. I closed the book and held it tight in my grasp.

"Too bad, I've read it. Disappointing isn't it?" I snickered inwardly at the bitch.

She looked terribly angered – which was my motive of doing so – but she didn't grab the book away from me for some reason. Cursing under her breath, she left the library. And that was the end of it. I simply shrugged and left the library – with the book still in my grip. Looked like somebody had PMS...

* * *

Back at my room – yes, I actually found my room after more than 15 minutes of walking around the same places and hallways. Anyhow, I still managed to find my way back without any help or getting lost. Seriously.

Still noon, I thrust myself onto the firm mattress with the book still evident in my hand. I sat up – cross-legged – and opened to the second page after a lot of torn pages in between and began reading the scribbled ink on it.

_Cold and shivering, she called me to come into the cave. I ignored her, since she was still in-training. If Hannibal Bean finds her, the world will be shrouded in pure ice..._

Now this was strange. It's simply because it didn't make sense to me. But what did the writer mean by 'world will be shrouded in pure ice'? Weird, but it's evidently in front of me. And the writing styles differ from messy to cursive, and then to round bold ink, as I further scoot through the pages. It was some kind of diary. But who would let other people write diary entries in the same book? So it may not be a diary after all.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I quickly hid the book under the nearest pillow I could see beside me and sat on it, hoping it'd work.

"Come in!" I exclaimed.

It was Chase Young, as expected.

"What's up?" I asked spontaneously.

"What's...up?" he cocked a brow, as if I was completely not mking sense. Gosh, didn't he know what it meant?

I took a deep breath, "I meant...what brings you here?"

"Wuya told me you went to the library just now." he crossed his arms. So the bitch really had a big mouth. I wonder what else is big about her...

"Yeah, I did. I got a little bored, you know. Hope you didn't mind." I cast a fake friendly smile -- which was obviously forced -- hoping he'd buy it.

"Where is the book?"

I inwardly jolted in shock. How the heck did he know? Wait, who am I kidding...of course, the witch told him! I looked down onto the bed silky sheets. "What book?" I wasn't known for lying – except for making really bad commitments and decisions – but what made me lie now? I wasn't scared if he'd get angry or anything, but why the heck am I lying to someone I barely know the rules of. That was when I made up my mind.

He squint his eyes suspiciously. Damn, shouldn't have said what I said. "Did you even read anything at all in there?"

"I barely even touched anything."

After a few moments, he turned around, heading for the door. I was glad about it, and sighed in relief. Though it was too soon, because he stopped on his very tracks. Shit, what if he knew I wasn't honest about this. Wait, why am I even scared?

"Dinner at six thirty. Don't be late." Then he walked out, closing the door behind him.

I lay down on my back in relief. For a second there I thought I was going to get busted for reading a...book? Maybe the book was priceless, but it didn't matter. What mattered was why was it so important to Wuya and Chase? Curiosity was burning inside me.

I was about to read more. Something was tempting about that book, however...what if he was going to the library to have a look for himself? Crap. Never thought about that. How shallow he had turned my mind into.

**A/N: Sorry for the slow update. I've been away (from my word docs) for quite some time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter so far (I suck with cliffhangies) and please REVIEW! And tell me what you think. Some encouragement would be very nice and appreciated considering that I'm fairly not in a lucky good mood recently. Oh, and I didn't really put any effort into this chapter, e.g. not enhancing my writing. But I've done edits a couple of times. REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5: Fish Cookies

**A/N: Hello! Sorry for the slow update. Well not THAT slow is it? Thanks so much for the reviews. I appreciate them my fellow faithful readers :) And just a note, I finally know where the story is going! Yay! (cyber-highfive). Oh and, I was away from writing for awhile because I had a lot of scchool assignments and I was busy reading fanfictions from a different archive recently XD Okay, on with the reading...**

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I sighed and uncovered the book, while crossing my skinny legs. It looked really aged, but it was somewhat tempting – its contents to be exact. I unfurled it to somewhere in the middle of the stained pages and something rather interesting caught my eyes in an instant.

On top of the page, the very top, there were largely scribbled words – DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. I cocked a brow, deciding whether the author was obviously dumb or smart to write such an obvious warning.

Sliding my fingers to the smaller writings, I read the top line,

Revival

-One dragon's tail.

-Two strands of witch's hair

-One fingernail

-Two lettuces' leaf

-Five drops of orange juice

-One shard of ice

I almost broke out into a jest, referring to the idea of getting lettuces and oranges in a ritual-like instruction were ridiculous and downright silly. However, the word 'Revival' had a threatening tone. So it was some kind of resurrection, I assume.

I kept flipping through the pages to roughly to collect the idea of the instructions. There wasn't anymore, and the writings ended there for two or three more pages or so. I tucked a strand of my falling hair behind my ear. This was a weird encounter, and something tells me that things were to get worse if I decided to follow these things. But what could I do if there was nothing fun here but an annoying witch and a grumpy landlord?

My fingers suddenly tingled, and I jerked, letting go of the still opened book onto the silky sheets. It felt like chilly all of a sudden, starting from the tip of my fingers all the way to my bones. Maybe it was supposed to be like that when you had that curious feeling. I turned to look at the balcony. The sun shone brightly, projecting light onto the floors through the wide-opened windows. And I'm pretty sure it's spring out there.

A sudden chill ran through my spine in one split second, making me jolt and abruptly turn back. Nothing. There was nothing but the wall. I got off the bed, and examined my surroundings. All furniture in place, and most importantly, there's no one present except for myself. My head was spinning in confusion and suspicion. What made me feel suddenly chilly and cold? I opened the toilet door and popped my head in to glance around. Nothing. No life form apparent.

I slowly turned and closed the door behind me, then walked to the pool of sunlight projected on the floor. I instantly felt heat, warming my exposed face and hands, then remembered my alarm clock. It had a temperature display. So I glanced at it – it read twenty seven degrees. Was I having some kind sensing problem? Or perhaps I was suffering a problem with my cold and heat receptors. Aunt Lily used to tell me that sometimes we may feel colder or hotter than we're supposed to. But I had no idea what she meant, to be honest.

I decided to take my red jumper and put it on. That's better. The only problem was that my legs were half bare. I sighed in frustration and shrugged the notion off. _I need food. That's it; people who are cold need food._ I paced out of my room and buried my small hands into the jumper's pockets, while hoping I'd find my way safely to the kitchen without getting lost.

At the kitchen, there was no one. So I decided to take things in my own hands for now. I couldn't wait for someone or some_thing_ to actually pop up from the archway and ask 'How can I help you?' So here I am, taking a tempting decorated jar off a shelf and opening it by my will. The little round things inside it reminded me of my aunt's extremely large cookies. I could barely even shove it into my mouth. It's bigger than my hand. But the round things in my wake were hardly cookies.

They were round and brown. And they're smooth. Cookies shouldn't be smooth. There were two smaller circles outlining the centre of each of the 'cookie-looking-round-thing(s)'. I brought it to my nose, and took in its aroma – if it had any. Fish. It smelt like fish. I took a bite, and chewed long and hard, while still interpreting the right name to label the food. Fish cookies? Odd, but it tasted like fish. I had nothing against fish, but I wouldn't know anyone who actually ate them as cookies or biscuits.

I put the jar back onto its shelf and made my way to the fridge located in the opposite corner of the kitchen. I opened it carefully, considering it was a large fridge. Bending down, I popped my small head into the large home of freezing chills and jerked back up. Did I just have brain freeze? I gave up. And as I turned on my heels to exit the kitchen, I instantly came to a halt when a pair of penetrating gold-green eyes met mine. I wouldn't say they're olive green, but close enough.

"Hello." I simply greeted, still holding the half-gobbled fish cookie in my hand. "Why are you eating fish biscuits?" he cocked a brow.

At first I thought that Chase was pointing out that it was actually 'cat food', but I realised that this wasn't his intention of asking. "Uhh... I don't see why not. It's really cold anyway, and I need food to stay warm."

"Cold?" he slightly chuckled. "It shouldn't be cold. The whole place is installed with centralised air-conditioning. How then, are you cold?" he said, pointing to the ceiling. _Right. Now I look like some crazy girl who can't sense heat and cold._ Then there was the unbreakable wall of silence. Well, I was still chewing on the fish cookie.

"Dinner is at six, don't be late," he broke the imaginary wall, and turned to exit the kitchen. But before passing the arch frame, he stopped, and continued, "Again."

I bit my lower lip, and twitched at his last comment. I know I was late, but it didn't mean he could keep rubbing in it my face like that. What an encounter. He didn't even offer me food.

Back at my room – and yes, I'm beginning to familiarise with the place – I swallowed the last bit of fish cookie down my throat, and closed the door behind me.

_Ow!_ I exclaimed inwardly as my nail caught the side of the knob. The end was slightly _nailed off_ and I knew I had to clip it off. Without delay, I carefully picked my nail and clipped it off with my teeth. Sounds disgusting, but I was careful not to let my saliva drooled out.

And before I threw the nail into the bin next to the toilet, a spark of idea lit in my mind – _nail...nail...one fingernail..._ I turned around and stared long at the peaceful open book lying on the silky sheets.

_No...No...The warning clearly said not to follow the instructions... _I had forgotten to keep the book hidden, and thankfully no one came in while I was gone. I couldn't imagine what would really happen though. Walking toward the book, and securely pinched the fingernail, I said to myself, "One fingernail." A sly smile was born.

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**A/N: Firstly, I know it's not a long chapter, but it's still something, right? And interesting things are coming up :D And please, tell me how this is going, (yes it's progressing slowly, but it's getting there ;) And tell me if you have any ideas you'd like to share (will definitely be considered!)**

**Secondly, notice the change in writing style. Well, after alot of reading successful fanfictions, I'm beginning to learn from them.**

**And thirdly, REVIEW = update faster :) And I will appreciate you lots.**


	6. Chapter 6: A 'not so' Flashback

**A/N: **Sorry it took me so long to update another chapter. Thanks to Sapphiet, xsmokeandmirrorsx, kblvs2read, Blacklash Button, writtensofine67, wafflestarpeace97 and Chasefan for the wonderful reviews. Really appreciated it! And thanks to all those who subscribed to this story to their favourite/alerts list. ^^

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I stood behind the grand dining hall door. _Crap, why did I just do that?_ I not only pissed a witch, but I also made her semi-bald. I could've just ask for her...WAIT! REWIND PLEASE!

_-Flashback- (No Italics on the flashback. It's a bit annoying to have the whole thing like that.)_

_Two lettuces..._

It wasn't hard to find the lettuces. The fridge was full of vegies. From three different types of eggplants and brinjals, to five different types of green leafy vegetables (I seriously don't know what a spinach looks like in fresh, before-cook case.) Aside all the strange looking health foods, a giant lettuce sat lonely by the far corner of the upper shelf in the fridge. A vibrant light shone down on it, and I smiled at the lettuce (because I'm pretty sure it's sad.)

SNAP OUT OF IT!

Okay, okay. I've been suffering delusions now. I wasn't in 'lettuce land'... It resulted from brain freeze, I suppose. My head felt much better after I took the large lettuce out of the fridge and tore two leaves off of it. All the while my head had extremely felt distorted when I was searching for the lettuce. As if someone's pressuring my head inwardly.

And I've been feeling colder than I should normally feel. Actually, this 'place' had been making me a bit 'out of character' lately. Maybe it's because the settlers here were so grumpy, that they've seemingly beaten my usual moodiness and made me feel and sound a bit 'higher' than I usually were. Not to mention thinking unwanted images (the lettuce, I mean. Nothing wrong, eh?)

Before I search through the fridge for the lettuce, I had already poured some orange juice– which I _think _was for drinking – into a glass. I decided to gather the shard of ice when I was about to conduct the 'experiment'. Seeing that ice can melt. In fact, it _will_ melt, considering the temperature.

I walked back into my room and shut the door, locking it behind me. I wouldn't want any visitors right now. _One fingernail, two lettuces, now what?_ I glanced at the book –

Certainly I wouldn't know where to get a dragon's tail. I had to do some research on Ebay for that one. _Two strands of witch's hair..._ I sat down on the bed, bringing my pointer to my chin. _Where would I get two...ohhhhh! I know!_

Six-thirty. I'm stuffed. Mr. 'I'm-the-owner-of-this-extremely-luxury-and-jaw-dropping-place' will kill me. Or anything that went along those lines. He would be saying 'you're late, again'. AGAIN. Yes he would be saying that _again_ and so on. And I will continue to come late for any meal. Not.

I rushed through the corridors and hallways that I came by, while panting about. I'm pushed for time. I wonder if he'd finally give up on my punctuality and just allow me to come whenever I please. That couldn't be so troubling, I guess.

"You're late, _again_."

That was the first thing I heard when I rammed the dining room door open. Thirty minutes. Just thirty minutes late and there he went. I felt like I was about to inwardly explode, but I'd save it for worse situations.

"I'm sorry." A droll smile formed on my face. "I was umm," I didn't think an explanation was necessary, but an excuse would probably cover up my 'insanity' for coming late.

"I was sleeping."

My sentence sounded like it was eventually cut off. He sighed and everything else in the dining hall went back to its businesses. Speaking of businesses, I spot a witch. A 'self proclaimed' witch, to be exact. I hate bit- witches.

And aside the fact that I hate them, I was a little thankful that the witch I was about to _purposely_ sit next to, had long, 'beautiful' and thick silky hair. _This should be easy..._ I grinned instinctively at the thought.

"What are you smiling at?" she snarled.

I jumped back into consciousness. Wuya had been aware of my unintentional grin and in return, gave me a threatening glare. Her hair...somehow reminded me of a fat (no offense intended) classmate that I had back in my high school. He had thick curly hair and loved chocolate cakes. And whenever I patted his hair from the back, he wouldn't feel or notice to the touch. Conclusion: _I can pluck hair off Wuya easily. Not that I'm saying she's fat... But thick hair...she wouldn't even feel anything!_

I decided to take a few bites off the food served in front of me first, to not make it obviously obvious and the most obvious. What's so obvious? It's obvious.

Rice with sweet and sour chicken... What else? Apple juice. It was those cloudy kinds of apple juice. Those kinds that pissed me off so badly because I occasionally choked on them (I know it's awkward.) It happened when I usually had a conversation during a meal. That's also a reason why I didn't talk during meals. I once choked on them so bad, that the ambulance had to come... Trust me you wouldn't want to know what happened after that. Speaking of apple juice, that just reminded me of the orange juice (I think) that I got from the kitchen for my little 'experiment' just then.

And _that_ just reminded me of the second last requirement needed for the experiment – two strands of a witch's hair.

_Excellent..._ I thought evilly, rubbing my hands together while smirking at the witch. Slowly, I threw my right arm around her shoulders.

_What am I doing? Not this way!_

For a second there I was sure that Chase abruptly stopped eating his meal and dropped his soup's spoon.

Then there was that awkward silence...

...

...

...

..

"W-what are you doing?" Wuya spat at me – literally. I bit my lower lip and froze on spot. Still gawping, I wondered if Chase must've thought I was lesbian. _Lesbian..._

That word echoed in my head for awhile, until of course, Wuya snapped me back into reality. I slowly slid my arm back while I carefully plucked a strand of her hair in the process. Phew! She didn't feel the pull. _Damn it, I need two! Not one, but _two_!_ While my mind was arguing with my relief, Wuya stood up and dragged her chair to a safe distance from me. Great, now how was I going to get another strand from her?

I smacked the back of Wuya's head and pulled a handful of her hair as my hands tightly gripped her smooth hair.

"OW! WTFreak are you doing?" She winced and squealed while clutching her skull. I ignored her and instead, wondered how her hair was much that soft. She could've been casting 'spells' but I wouldn't see the necessities to do so for the sake of beautiful _hair_. I then glanced over the table to see a very shocked Chase Young who probably assumed that I was obsessed with Wuya. I only wanted her two strands of _hair_!

_When should I let go? What if I let go? Crap I'm gonna get into deep s***._

I then released my grips out of all of a sudden, making her fall out of her chair and hit herself against the white marbled floors. Chase rushed over; however, he didn't really do anything but observed the moment. His eyes widened as he stood longer. I panicked when I saw the _fistful_ amount of _hair_ that ended up in my hand. A few strands were already pulled by gravity to the floor but several stayed in my hand.

As soon as I saw the _extremely_, utterly, _very_ pissed witch, I sprinted for the door. No second thoughts, no 'I-guess-so'(s) or 'I-think'(s).

The door was already screaming for my name...

_SNAP OUT OF IT!_

And there I was, behind a closed door that led to a dining hall. I was sure I heard a very angry muffled voice coming from its rear – curses and female roars – but it soon faded when a muffled man's voice interrupted. And that's when I knew I was safe...

For now.

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**A/N: **Two reasons why this couldn't be a long chap. One, it already took so long. And two, because the next scene will be about something else so I HAD to end it either way. Review please :3 And don't forget to donate fruitful advises! It's a path to every writer's success ;) Oh, and one more thing, was the flashback thing good? I hope it makes sense XD


	7. Jack's Game

**A/N: Sorry for the very slow update! I'll try my best to update more regularly ! :) And as a punishment (for me) and a reward for you, I give you a very long, yet enjoyable chapter! ^^ Thanks for the reviews by the way, keep it coming! :D**

My breath hitched as I suddenly opened my eyes to only see the light of day. Thankfully, no one came all over to my room to visit me when I was fast asleep. Or at least not after I had made someone I barely knew angry as a wolf. Well, it was worse than that actually, but I wouldn't start another chaotic mess in somewhere I just moved into.

The first thing that grasped my attention was the rain. _Heavy, heavy rain..._I thought. I loved rainy weathers. It reflects my golden temperament.

Even though I had awoken from a deep slumber, exhaustion was still at its dominance. But above all of the tiresome emotions, sombreness was evident in my mind – and that was excellent.

Regaining my memory of yesterdays wasn't hard, I was just reluctant to. It was a disaster, and it was just not..._me_. I was supposed to get two strands of hair, not _feel_ hair. _'Arrgghhh all this reminiscing is blowing up my sane!'_

I was in fact, _insane_. Maybe a little insane, but for an emotional and unorganised, poor decision-maker like me, it was _extreme_. Truthfully, I wasn't having any trouble with my sexuality, and I wasn't fondling with hair. I was just simply getting two strands of hair and that was it.

Glancing at the watch, it was already eight in the morning – which meant I had unintentionally skipped breakfast – and no one came to waken me up. _'Was it something I did?'_ It's not like I didn't enjoy an undisturbed sleep, but a slight rush of rejection triggered my social-conscious side of mind and obviously made me feel...well, rejected.

Aunt Lily must've had a contenting breakfast by now. And here I was, still taking in the unfortunate events that I've brought myself into.

My attention shifted instantly to my bedroom door as someone was rapping it demandingly to enter from its rear. I was about to turn the handle as the knocks came to a pause, that's when I noticed that my little 'experiment' materials were still clearly visible from sight. My head was aimless as it pestered me to hide all evidence if I'd not want to prepare a lengthy explanation.

I quickly grabbed the book and slid it underneath the bed as the rapping on the door grew more impatiently loud. _'Crap'._ I thought as I carefully pinched the two waving strands of Wuya's hair and placed it into the drawer of the bedside table. When I was sure the hairs was safely hidden, I hastily straightened up and strolled to the door and turned the knob and yanked the door open.

As expected, well, second expected, it was Chase Young standing coolly by the door frame as soon as I opened the door. His poker face was unreadable, making a side of me more and more curious to uncover what lied beneath his emotionless mask. Happiness? Sadness? Anger? Who knows.

Chase wasn't moving, instead, he was staring at me straight-faced. I tried my best to keep my "casual" face on while silence prevailed once again.

"So umm...can I help you?"

"I'd like to invite you to breakfast since you didn't make an appearance ealier."

I simply smiled. _Was he joking? Or was he slightly drunk? Of course I didn't mind!_ I exclaimed inwardly. _Wait, wasn't breakfast at six? Oh wait, Wuya said it was at eight. Ah, who cares!_

"Sure, no biggy. I'll just get my watch..." I hastily grabbed my Rolex by the bedside table and closed the door behind me.

The walk to the dining hall wasn't audible. I could hardly ask him anything on our way. When I did have a question raised in my head, he would be looking away or be it closing his eyes. Walking while closing eyes? That's unbelievable, unless he's cheating by merely looking down. No _that's_ believable.

The hallway was full of odd paintings and decorations. Some could be one of those typical Chinese arts that consisted of mountains and forests. Some were just swords and weird-looking weapons, which I could barely make out their shapes. So you must be this rich to literally waste your money.

Chase was calmed, really calmed. Sometimes I doubt that if he'd ever tripped or walked into a wall before. At the thought of that it really made my day. Because I knew that would never happen, not at least when I'm around. Although it looked like he was in a 'meditating' state, it was unclear that he could be in a troubling disposition, something that I was afraid to inquire about.

As we passed several hallways which were more familiar to me overtime, three things caught my eyes – a chocolate wrapper on the floor (not that I cared), three framed portraits on the wall and a passing white tiger, or as I liked to call it, snow tiger. I slowly came closer to the three pictures while burying my hands in my pockets.

Chase must've noticed my sudden halt and came back to stop behind me. I noticed that two of them consisted of bald men and one of them was a picture of a girl.

"They're the well-known Tai Chi Masters fifteen-hundred years ago." Chase dully pointed out. By the tone his voice held, I could predict that he wasn't interested to supply any further information. I simply nodded while taking in the appearance of each portrait. The one on the left was a bald man who wore an orange robe. The middle one was another bald man, well, shaved to be exact. He was wearing a robe similar to the one mentioned before, instead, his was of red with black lining.

Now the one on the right caught most of my interest so I decided to ask Chase on this one. The person in the portrait had mid-length jet black hair and had a blue robe on. "Chase..." I trailed off. No answer. I turned my head to find that he's already started to walk down the hallway, but I wouldn't know when I'll get the chance to buy him a question again. So...

"Who's the pretty chick?" I snapped loud enough for him to hear before I crossed my arms comfortably while leaning further to inspect the portrait, carefully not to fully lean against it. They were all mid-close ups with glossy finishing and golden frames outlining each photograph.

Chase swiftly turned on his heel, making me suddenly divert my gaze to him.

"Excuse me?" He asked with shock as his arms fell to his sides while he paced toward the portrait that I was now facing.

"Yeah, that chick." I pointed with my finger to confirm with him.

Soon after long gazing, I noticed some similarities between Chase and the mentioned portrait. They could be related or something. "I can tell you two are alike...is that your sister or something?"

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"Gee, you have to really be careful what you ask him next time. Remember, Chase is fifteen hundred years old. He could look from a grandma to even a parrot." Jack reminded, matter-of-factly. He was right, and the fact the he was escorting me to hunt for some sticks, wasn't cool.

Yes, Chase sent me to get seven sticks off the ground. It wasn't a hard task, but I just chose to make it challenging. Instead of having to find ordinary sticks, which was widely scattered on the forest grounds, I looked for double pointed sticks. It was just like you're supposed to hunt for a magpie, but you chose to hunt for an eagle. Jack seemed like he couldn't care less since he didn't even question why we were still walking aimlessly around the woods.

"So Jack, how's life so far for you?" I enquired casually. The sticks were already starting to hurt my palm. Although I wasn't gripping it tightly, the rough texture of them constantly grazed my palm with every slight jolting movement.

Jack was silent for awhile, probably thinking for the right answer before I cast him a sharp curious glance that made us both stopped on our tracks.

Finally, he opened his mouth to respond, "Life's tough, as always..." he heaved a sigh to emphasise his answer.

"How come? I thought you were the 'Evil Boy Genius'. Surely it's fun being evil _and_ genius at the same time. Usually genius people are just plain dumb." I chuckled at the thought of evil scientists mucking around with extremely dangerous chemicals but then stopped when I realised that Jack was entirely serious.

"Sorry..." I apologised softly. Perhaps I didn't know people's feelings well enough to understand them since my feelings were already pretty effed up.

"No, it's okay...It's just that, those xiaolin knuckleheads just always get in my way whenever I'm at the verge of winning. I never get the chance to actually savour Shen Gong Wu I've won because they just keep coming back!" he shouted angrily.

Was it just me, or was Spicer boy gone 'expresso' much? First of all, I didn't know what the heck he was talking about, and it simply just didn't make sense to me. Second of all, he's actually telling all these things to me? Well, if it was something deep, then I would really be flattered to be told to but if it was just about his siblings bullying him then don't even think I'd be feeling appreciated.

"Umm...Jack, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" I grabbed him carefully by the arm and yanked him to a nearby large rock before I sat down with him joining next to me. I gave him a sympathetic smile before letting him continue.

"Wait, didn't Chase tell you anything about pyjama fighters and Shen Gong Wu?" he asked with slight confusion plastered on his face. I merely shook my head as an answer.

"Well, since you live with Chase I think you should know about this. Besides, you're gonna know about this sooner or later when a Wu reveals itself. Now, I'll start with the Wu. Shen Gong Wu are these magical things that have cool powers and they're like everywhere in the world..." he explained.

Even though these 'facts' were hard to believe since they're 'magical', I did give his explanation some room in my head. Who knows what I could be dealing with in this strange world? I nodded in understanding and gestured for him to continue.

"But getting them isn't easy. There are these kids in pyjamas, well; they're actually xiaolin monks, who just keep getting in your way. You know, they just can't see how annoying it is to get stopped every single time you're on something. Especially when _Cheese ball_ stops you." A pause from him signalled for me to interrupt.

"So wait, you're addicted to cheeseballs that you can't get Sen Gong Ngu because of that?" I cocked a brow for him to confirm his statement.

"No, no! The gang of pyjama buddies actually are people and one of them has a cheese ball for a head." He motioned four fingers in front of me to indicate four members of the group.

There was silence before I broke out into outward laughter. "Are you kidding me? Ahahahaha!" I couldn't stop for about two minutes and Jack even joined in to laugh before my amusement began to die down and break into intervals as I took in some oxygen.

I completely stopped laughing when I saw the orange crack of sunset by its earliest. It was a beautiful and relaxing scenery from where we were but also was a reminder that it was time to head home. Usually this was important to obey if you're living in a crime based neighbourhood. But here, probably something 'magical' will pop out and attack you instead of steely knives and guns. Honestly, I didn't want to head back home.

"Hey," I began, "we should head back to the house. It's getting dark. We can talk about this later."

He simply shrugged and started leading me back to the palace. If Jack wasn't with me right now, I would be completely lost in this totally unfamiliar place. Tree barks wherever you look and leaves roofing you everywhere you go.

After a good ten minutes walk, we eventually reached back to the front entrance of the volcanic home. I was in fact grateful that the gate actually opened when we arrived since there was no door bell to signal our sudden arrival.

Inside, as usual, there was Chase Young standing primly at the bottom of the stairs, as if he knew who or what and when he was about to encounter someone.

"'Sup Chase." I gave him a playful salute on my way in while Jack just waved at him.

"Where have you two been?" For a second there I thought he sounded like a worried father but his stern tone suggested that he was probably delivering concern, however not in a fatherly manner.

"Apparently, I decided to get seven two-pointed sticks instead of just seven sticks, so yeah." I explained monotonously.

Jack already looked as if he was a burnt chicken about to be eaten alive because he was seemingly afraid in his current position. Openly, I always thought Jack was a cool dude and I sometimes pondered why he was afraid of a guy like Chase. "Emily..." Surely Chase's a bit scary by one glance, but I found no legitimate reason to be so scared of him until one would spill all of one's respect to him. "Emily..." Or was it just me who didn't know the _real _Chase Young yet?

"Emily!" Chase snapped impatiently.

I was too immersed in my own thoughts that I didn't realise that Chase was repetitively calling out my name to gain my attention. I shook my head slightly to clear my mind and submit my attention to him.

"What?"

"We will be having supper at the library tonight. I suggest you be there right now knowing you'd probably wander off elsewhere. Jack will escort you to avoid you getting lost and late, _again_." He crossed his arms elegantly, sending several chills creeping up my spinal cord. Something I didn't expected as a stimuli respond to his act but I managed to hide it from public.

_Effin dammit! Does he have to say that _again_ at the end of every invitation or reminder, _again_? Pisses me off!_

As tempting as it was to let out my anger, my eye merely twitched unnoticeably and a crooked arc crept its way on my face. "Sure Chase. I won't be late, _again_." I pressed the last word. It felt so good that I'd the chance to shoot back his word at him, although it was actually about me.

Me and Jack decided to leave for the library as soon as Chase was out of sight to who knows where. Jack nearly tripped on a ball of yard on our way and that to some extent, lifted my spirit after my last meeting with Chase. Though, he made me promise to act as if that never happened so I had to agree to him after all the things he'd done for me since I'd been here. I mean, without him, I'd probably be stuck at a dark cornered hallway with no doors or walkthroughs and cry out for my Aunt Lily.

When we entered the library, no one was there yet, well almost. Some jungle cats were sleeping around like carpets which made me in fact almost clumsily stepped onto one. It was a pretty dimly lit library anyway, so I shouldn't be blamed, or worse, eaten if an accident occurred that involved the jungle cats.

"So Jack, what do you wanna do here since we arrived early? I'd prefer something else than books you know, like Playstation 3 or Wii."

"Are you kidding me?" He faintly laughed. "Chase doesn't even have cable television here. What makes you think he plays Wii? We could if we're back at my house but we're not, so yeah." Jack simply shrugged as he said the last few words with silent disappointment which I also kind of felt at hearing his answer. At first I couldn't believe Chase didn't have any sort of 'modern' entertainment in a huge place like this, but I knew Jack wouldn't lie about that. Something about him confirmed that he wasn't a person who'd lie for the sake of it.

"Any ideas then? You are, in fact, the 'Evil Boy Genius'". I dragged the last three words and made two finger signs with my hands to support my sarcasm.

Jack looked around before he decided, "We should play a game, without a game."

"Continue. Even though it doesn't make sense..."

"Do you know the game Guess Who?"

"Yeah, so?" I cocked a brow as I crossed my arms and rested lazily on my right leg.

"We could play that game, except that I give you clues to guess who."

"Great idea Jack, except who are we gonna guess about 'cause I hardly or should I say, _don't_ know anyone you know. And no, I'm not guessing about famous people because I hate them." I huffed.

"Tell you what, I promise you this game is gonna be awesome. If it sucks, you can slap my hand." He convinced.

"How about...if it sucks, you'll have to kiss Wuya on the cheek?" a hidden chuckle exit itself through my lips but I tried to keep it inaudible from him to sound more serious and unnegotiable.

"Ok." He starkly replied. So he thought I was joking. That's fine, 'cause I'm not. But I agreed to play his version of the game anyway, since no food was here yet.

Jack started pacing forward while taking a blue covered notepad and a black pen out of his trench coat pocket before he sat down cross-legged on the floor in between two shelves. There was a big window that gave sufficient amount of light for us to see. I simply followed him and leaned against the wall before he tore out a few sheets of ruled paper from his mini pad.

He then began to scrawl something on the four papers before he spread them in front of me on the floor. "Choose one." He gestured.

I quickly inspected each of the messy drawings. From the left was a picture of a ball with bubbles and labelled 'Cheeseball' at the bottom of it. Next to it was a drawing of a cowboy hat, followed by a girl stick figure and on the very right, a boy stick figure.

"So, what's up with the funny doodles?" A smile slowly emerged on my face, "You know, if this not-so Guess Who turns out boring, you will have to kiss someone on the cheek..." I laughed quietly at the thought.

"Well umm..." he reached for an itch on the rear of his head with his eyes still fixed on the papers, "Now you have to guess their...names." he tore another paper off his notepad and scribbled something quickly before giving it to me. I knew from the tone of his voice, he was making up this game as we go along.

I read the four lines aloud, "Kimiko, Clay, Raimundo, Omi."

"And now you have to match them with the names, and if you get it wrong for three times, you lose."

"And the catch is...?"

"You'll have to do a dare."

I crossed my arms and pressed my lips together.

Jack smirked, knowing that he got me on the edge of his 'game'.

"And since it's a dare, you'll have to umm..." he looked around for a moment, "You'll have to kiss Chase on the cheek..."

My jaw _almost_ dislocated itself at hearing the dare. Was he kidding me? That would be the last thing I'd ever do. Well, second, because the last thing I'd do would be kissing a donkey. No questions asked.

"No way, that's too much! Hell no I'm not kissing that..." I was suddenly cut off by myself. That what? What should I label him with? Prim guy? Elegant dude? That wouldn't fit the sentence now would it?

Jack sighed, "Fine, fine. You'll only have to _randomly_ hug Chase. You can't tell him why."

I was about to literally shout at him but my sane side of mind suggested otherwise.

_Smart..._ I thought, as I started to enter the very world of luck unless the names actually have something to do with the pictures. In their own manners, Kimiko's an Asian name and it should belong to a girl.

"Kimiko matches with this one," I pointed at the stick figure which has two lines drooping down its imperfect round head, "Am I right?"

Jack clapped his hands slowly, as a substitute to a common nod or 'yes'. "You're not bad at this game..."

"Since its Jack's game, even a three year old could play it."

Famous last words...

_Clay could be a name of a guy, so it should be the...wait a minute._

"There could be more than one guy Jack, that's not really fair!" I threw the name paper down.

"But also, you should know where the origins of these names are because they all come from different parts of the world." He protested, matter-of-factly.

"Fine. But I'm sure none of these pictures actually have a culture except for that cowboy hat. If I don't get an explanation at the end of this, you're dead." I threatened before disappearing in deep thought again._ Clay could be a name of a guy, so it should be the..._

"Clay is the stickman man."

A sudden jest broke out from the albino as he clutched his stomach tightly and constantly slapped the carpeted floor.

"Damn it..." I mused. "He is the umm...Cheeseball?"

The amused atmosphere around Jack didn't die down at all. No, I actually made it worse, or should I say _better_ for him.

"That's _two_ wrong, baby!" he said between laughs.

"Don't call me that!" I warned. "I'll try another one..."

_Okay, focus Emily...you got the highest mark in class for world Geography recently...you can do it!_ _But what does Geography have to do with this?_

"Well...umm Clay is the ummm cowboy hat...?"

"You got one right."

"And umm...Cheeseball is the um...

...

...

...

Stickman?"

Just before Jack could react to my guess, the grand library door flew open.

**A/N: So...how was it? I apologise for the cliffhanger :D Yes, you may expect alot of Chase-ness in the next chapter and by now, you should know what Emily has to do ;)**

**Review = smiley faces = encouragement = faster updates**

**So review please :3**


	8. Sayuki

Emily's eyes fluttered as the crack of sunlight shown through the tall glass window. She could feel the nerves of her neck oddly twisted, erupting pain with every jolting movement of her head and neck. Something she hadn't expected after waking up.

She slowly lifted her body to lean against a shelf and took in her surroundings. She was indeed, still in the library. However, no one could be seen or heard except for distant chirps outside.

And then she remembered. Before Emily could react to the tasty desserts served after Chase, Wuya and his pets walked in, she had suddenly found her eyelids heavy and uncontrollable. And out of her realisation and will, she fell into a deep slumber on the exact spot she had played the game with Jack.

Unbothered, Emily forced herself onto her feet, despite the flaring pain in her neck. Her head felt weighty and her vision was blurry which made the urge to stroll properly was almost impossible.

Then it hit her, that she had lost the so-called 'Guess Who' game by Spicer. As much as she hated the consequence of her poor decision-making, she had to complete the final part of the game by carrying out her second worse action.

Hug Chase Young.

That was something Emily wouldn't want to think about at the moment. Being the one to lose Jack's game was bad enough. And now she had to hug the second person she hated in her life. Her head was spinning, filled with thoughts from yesterday.

That led to a sudden pain erupted in her noggin and had caused her to slam herself into a nearby scarlet armchair. "Gahhh why can't I have a perfect day just for once?" she complained to the empty library.

Slowly, she pushed herself against the armchair and got back to her feet before pushing the grand library door open and peeked out into the hallway. No one. Emily saw no one at all. There was no sign of life from what her senses could tell.

She was about to walk into the isolated hallway until a very dry cough was heard.

* * *

Chase sat peacefully in mid-air, taking in the serene atmosphere shrouding him entirely. His eyes were effortlessly shut and his mind was at bliss. Something he'd been expecting for ages, a feeling of victory and world domination – Prince of Darkness, ruling the world, Wuya speechless, Jack enslaved... His imagination was thrilling every side of his vexed soul, just seconds after he started his relaxation.

How appealing it would be to him if citizens were screaming and shrieking, dashing for their pathetic lowlifes in hopes to find safety and comfort. There was no comfort in Chase's domain, nothing but ill-fated creatures scattering themselves to search for freedom, if there would be any left to search for.

His minions would obey every edge of his words. No order would be too difficult to conduct. As for the nitwits like Jack and his former dream team, he would have to get rid of them in the most vindictive way, since they ruined his peaceful life without even trying. He could hardly believe when he had to commit some effort to do likewise. How could annoyance be such a deep word to him?

In favour of Wuya, he would have to use something more brutal against her. Having her by his sanctuary would mean letting an irrational wild boar into his abode. He grinned subconsciously at the thought of Wuya having two huge nostrils similar to that of a wild boar.

For once he could humour himself over something as simple as Wuya and a wild boar. Chase didn't want to make a big deal about a small joke, but he came to think of it, he should tell that to someone else, someone who would laugh breathlessly at it. Even if it wasn't a joke.

He then resumed immersing himself deeper into his meditation. Of course, when he reached his world domination agenda, he would be a very busy Prince. He will need a trustworthy accomplice to turn the misfortune around, so he wouldn't overlook his plans.

As his imagination progressed, a small frown soon crept its way onto his unscathed face. The thought of him ruling the world without someone by his side, was too disturbing since he had already lost Omi and the little boy's precious dots. He will have to reconsider that matter anon.

Another issue he would have to ponder about was Emily. What would she become when he was busy organising his own society? Surely he couldn't just categorise her as one of the nitwits. Lee would kill him for that, if she was still alive, that is. But what exploitation would the girl be to him? Frankly he thought it was amusing when she annoyed Wuya, but the witch would be vanished...

_wild boar..._

Chase shook his head at the careless thought. What was it with his joke that he couldn't make it disappear from his unpolluted mind?

Back to his consideration. Emily...her name reminds him of her ancestor, simply because it rhymed with Lee. Furthermore, her character was evidence that she had inherited several of Lee's personality.

Emily had done exactly what he wanted. She took the book, read the content, and now she had showed interest with it. He knew his plan was working nevertheless, but he needed a backing plan to fill in the holes in case if Emily's interest was slipping out of his grasp.

Then it hit him. She could be an apprentice. He could train her to become similar to Omi. He could turn her from another useless pest to something of worthy. He inwardly praised himself for the idea.

Chase peeked one eye open and sighed frustratingly before closing it again. His senses were suspicious about his wonderful isolation when he instantly caught sight of a known frivolous figure lingering in the far end shadows of his own throne room.

"Come out, Wuya." He faintly yet sternly commanded.

The canny witch stepped forward and made her way to face Chase at a considerable distance. She knew that she was unwelcomed around his tranquil state, which was even harder to convince him about her motive.

"What do you want?" he queried coldly, still in his meditating position.

Wuya folded her arms, contemplating the next phrase to use as a respond that wouldn't sound too friendly or too spiteful to him. She could try yelling, but she had hated sore throats.

"A Shen Gong Wu has just revealed itself. But I couldn't recognise it yet so I doubt that the dragon has even felt anything. If we're quick enough instead of just _sitting around_ then I'm sure we won't lose this one." She proposed. Wuya smugly stood and interiorly applauded herself for her courage. Although she had just remembered the consequence of doing so.

Chase slowly stood up in steps to end his meditating state before strolling over to face the witch and smirked smugly, knowing that he will win the argument one way or another. "Why don't you go find your petty toys on your own?" he riposte, folding his arms. "Unless if you have a vital reason for me to search for your knickknacks, then I suggest you turn around and leave at once." His sharp gaze pierced through hers and that made her flinched slightly.

"It's umm..." Wuya tore her gaze away from him, "It's a powerful Wu, I can sense it!" she blatantly lied.

Chase cocked a brow in response; "You'd really think I would fall for your pathetic schemes?"

Wuya hid her clenched fist. If only she could release the anger that was starting to boil up in her.

"Fine. I'll get your _toys_ for you. As long as that repels your presence in my company. Just make sure Emily stays in the citadel."

* * *

"Jack you idiot, you don't scare me like that!" Emily scoffed and pulled away her arm that was grasping a stoned vase. "I really didn't mean to hit you that hard."

Jack sluggishly laid on the floor, "Oh really? Well look at what you did to my HeliBot!" he piped up weakly due to the pain flaring on his back. His HeliBot was curving inwards due to the impact in addition to some screws and parts that were scattered all over the polished marbled floor.

Emily put the vase back down to its place which was on a nearby end table before pulling Jack up by the arm.

"It's called self-defence."

Jack sighed, "Guess I'll have to take the long way."

"Long way?"

"Yeah well, a Wu has just revealed itself and now I can't get there the easy way because _someone_ crushed my HeliBot."

Emily shook her head in dismay whilst Jack took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, take this."

Emily looked from Jack to his opened palm before extending her own arm to grab the rectangle device.

"It's a locator. The chip is in my pocket so you know exactly where I am." Jack explained.

"So...I'm gonna go see this Wu by myself?"

Jack nodded.

"Why can't you just bring me with you?"

The boy cleared his throat before answering, "Because Chase wouldn't let you go. I heard him with my little ears."

"Little?" she raised a brow at the boy.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I used this Wu to turn myself into a fly." He reached into his trench coat once again to pull out the Manchurian Musca before showing it to her face. "I was just bored at the time."

Emily's incredulous expression was mixed with revulsion as Jack shoved the Wu back into his coat.

"Just make sure you don't lose your coat or pants on the way."

Jack gave a thumbs up before shouting, "Manchurian Musca!" and flew out of the small open window just above Emily as she glanced around her surroundings to make sure that no one had heard their little plan. When she was sure that everything was clear, she walked down the stoned hallway before entering the walkway that led to the dining hall.

Just as Emily was about to push the grand door of the dining hall open, an unknown force opened it for her from the other side. She had thought that this could be something 'magical' welcoming her, until a figure emerged from behind it. She jolted backwards at the unexpected presence. The thought of her being alone was far behind her.

A pale blue figure which possessed long ears and beautiful round eyes stood before her. As shocked as she was, she could tell that the figure was as shocked to see her.

"My name is Sayuki. I am here at your service." The creature bowed down.

Emily didn't know what to respond the gesture with. A nice hello wouldn't fit with the description and greetings of the blue figure but a smile and nod wouldn't do well either. For Emily, every second she was getting acquainted with another magical creature was a great chance of her slipping into trouble, or worse, missing the opportunity to see Wu.

"Hi um, I'm Emily." She returned a bow.

As soon as her head went against gravity, Sayuki seemed to be surprised. Another expression she couldn't read.

"Why are you smiling?" Emily inquired.

Sayuki shook her head, losing the crooked smile that was evidently on her face.

"No, nothing. It's just that you're not like what they told me."

"Who told you what?"

"Nothing." Sayuki said smiling.

Emily sighed. It seemed so that this creature was annoying her to bits. And so she'd thought she was annoying them.

"No, you just said that someone said something that has to do with me. What is it?"

"I'm confused. May you rephrase that?" Sayuki asked gently. Its voice was soft and gentle, filled with sense of respect and humbleness.

Finally, after contemplating wether replying was a great idea, Emily decided that the creature wasn't worth her time. It certainly didn't look like bugs bunny in disguise of her blue-ish skin and long elven-like ears.

"Nothing." Emily replied starkly.

A solid wall of silence built up between the two, who seemed to be gazing at each other for awhile. Emily knew that the creature was judging her, so she thought of to do the same.

Everything breathing or _living_ creature should have a gender, or something similar to that. And Emily wasn't fond of calling breathing creatures 'it' for the rest of _their_ lives. For the exception of the non-existent Cousin It, she decided that it was best to ask the creature for a gender. Even though Emily had the notion that the creature may be a girl, she just needed to confirm. She had mistaken a transgendered man for a real born woman before, and she will never make that similar mistake again.

Emily took in a deep breath in before crossing her arms nervously. "Sayuki... do you mind me asking, are you a fe- girl, or a boy?"

Surprisingly, Sayuki began to laugh hard, snorting about like a pig before wiping away a forming tear from her eye. After a few seconds of waiting, Emily finally began seeing the creature calming down and collecting herself.

"Pardon me miss, but you are far too humorous and brainless than what they had described to me." Sayuki stated. She was back to her gentle self again.

But Emily's head wasn't floating on the clouds, she was beneath water, and she hated it. The sight of a blue figure had already caused great revulsion to her senses. If the creature won't respect her, then she'll do the same.

"You know what, _dude_," Emily began, "I don't give a crap to what depths of gender you belong to, be it human or not. I just think you're a waste of time, and I'm telling Chase. Sounds simple?" She finished the sentence with a smug smile plastered on her visage.

Sayuki started to seem worry. Its happy expression had turned into a panicking frown –just what Emily wanted to see.

The creature took a careful step forward and dropped gracefully onto its knees. It tilted its head down as a sign of respect and apology toward Emily. This was when a sneaky idea crawled into Emily's conniving mind.

"You know, there's one way you can sew my mouth shut. Though Chase can never know."

Sayuki tilted her head up to face Emily. "I will do anything."

A devious smile grew on Emily's face.

"Get me a dragon's tail."

**A/N: ****A/N: I just noticed that Sayuki in this chapter was yellow. I already changed her back to blue.** As usual, Read and Review. Thanks for the reviews from the previous chapters.


	9. Sayuki Part II

**A/N: Eek! I'm back, finally, after being away for a few months. Just going to say, thank you to my wonderful readers and reviewers. You guys are the bomb!**

"Woah!" I immediately exclaimed as I saw the mounted storage of 'dragon soup'. And I thought my CD collection was a replica of Mount Kinabalu. I continued to gaze at the cans of soup before a sudden jerk snapped me out of it. It was Sayuki, with her elven-ears and blue face.

"Which one would you like, madam?" she asked. I stood for a moment to think. It really won't matter what kind of dragon's tail, I suppose, if dragons do come in grades like chicken's eggs. However, I came to the conclusion to pick the largest can on top of all the others. It was nothing personal, but I felt a little bitchy today.

"I want that big one at the top. Think you can _reach_ it for me?" Bang, I hit the jackpot.

Although it did prove me wrong when it swiftly, yet gracefully floated to the level of the can. My jaw dropped to the floor at the sight as she retrieved it with complete ease.

There goes my dignity. Or whatever's left of it.

"Anything else, madam?"

Firstly, how the heck did she do that? Secondly, I'm surprised she didn't interrogate me about the soup – people in China must love to eat dragons.

But despite all that, I failed.

Sayuki handed me the can of perfect shame and worn out dignity, or shall I say, the can of whole dragon soup which I thought she couldn't reach for. Face it, I underestimated her, and I failed.

Before I was about to walk out the unnecessary large storage room, a _deformed _hand grabbed me by the shoulder, restricting me from any more movement. As expected, I turned, and it was Sayuki, with her ever so intimidating wide grin.

"Madam, it's alright..." she grinned even wider, "I know you're ashamed and weak."

_Ouch._

Okay does this _thing_ in front of me actually think before it speaks? Actually, does it even have a brain to start with?

I was about to go Wuya-when-I-plucked-her-hair mode until a distant sound of metal crashing was heard. Sayuki rushed out of the room while I decided to hide the can first.

The sound brought us to the front of the 'house', which seemed very serene and peaceful in condition. I walked a little further to where Sayuki was standing – on top of the large staircase – and my eyes caught sight of something really weird, and creepy.

Standing before us were a wannabe Catwoman wearing a cheap Halloween costume, a guy with a Russian hat, and a large one-eyed red creature with...Jack squished in his huge fist? What the heck happened to him?

Before I could question the situation, Sayuki already made her way down the white marbled steps and toward the group.

"Jack. I didn't expect to see you again. Did my master degrade you in an effortless fight?" Sayuki started. Woah, for a second there her tone changed from 'pretentious humble' to 'you suck'. Jack didn't seem to be fazed by it at all though he looked rather upset.

"You!" he pointed at Sayuki, "This is all your fault! If you didn't tell Chase nothing would've happened!" Jack accused from across her, still being gripped by the red creature. He was struggling to escape its grasp but couldn't.

I did nothing but observed the moment – as usual.

After a second of silence, Sayuki erupted into a laugh capable of sending chills down my spine. Whatever got into her, she was not the same annoying and humble creature she was before. The curious atmosphere immediately turned into an ominous, threatening environment.

Sayuki came closer to Jack, facing him directly. The others did nothing but stood silently and looked at Jack. For a moment there, Sayuki looked like the she-boss.

"Spicer, you intended to let Emily escape which is definitely against my master's wish. I advise you stop fooling around at once." Her voice was threatening, as if Jack had just called her something offensive. Jack seemed a little taken aback by her words. Although I wouldn't possibly know what he was feeling. I was pretty sure he felt the desire to strangle her like I did before. But Jack didn't answer; instead he hung his head down silently, like a homemade jelly. Only the nearby sounds of waterfalls hitting the scarred rocks beneath could be heard. It did loosen up the tension building up between them.

Before I could say something, or actually breathe, Sayuki turned and snapped her fingers. (Not like those sassy stereotypes, but more like an order.) In a split second, the red-eyed creature released Jack, who then fell onto the floor with a stark scream. The main entrance opened and the three left the building, leaving me, Jack and Sayuki behind. I wasn't really grasping the situation or how important it might be, but I had the feeling that this was not a good time to respond, or possibly ask Sayuki what the heck just happened.

Sayuki then left the room, without any final words to Jack or me. Her mouth was shut and her brows were creased.

After she was gone, I rushed down the steps and helped Jack – who was still lying like a squashed squid – off the floor. He was silent, and smelt bad, really – probably because of the creature. After he had collected himself, and brushed off the debris on his seemingly worn-out coat, only then did I have the intention of asking him the ultimate question –

"What the hell just happened?"

Jack led out a sigh, before finally answering me. "My helibot ran out of juice just when I was a few miles away from the Shen Gong Wu..."

"And?"

"Well, those three came and beat me up, then brought me here." He said with a sigh. "No doubt that blue bitch must've heard our conversation and told Chase about our little plan. She can pick up a really high frequency with those pointy ears you know." Jack sighed once again and started to head towards the door. And then, did I notice something missing off his back.

"Jack," I called and he turned around, "where's your helibot?"

"They took it. Guess I have to walk home." He shrugged, and headed towards the door once again.

For a second there I felt sympathy for the boy. He actually lost his stuff because of me. How sacrificial was that? I had to make it up to him. I didn't know why, but I just felt like I killed someone. Without going through the consideration processor any further, I decided.

"Jack, I'm coming with you."

_30 minutes later._

"You're kidding me right." I groaned.

"I told you before; it's like an hour walk until I reach home."

The woods were quiet, _really_ quiet. Like those horror movies that portray dark, creepy forests with only the sound of owls cooing and your own footsteps, this was pretty much the same except there's two people instead of one travelling around the woods at night.

Despite all that, I looked up at the sky, and it was beautiful. How long was I trapped in that place anyway? Everything was so locked up, that I barely could even remember seeing how beautiful the night sky was. There were many stars scattered all over the horizon, along with a lonely crescent moon being the only light radiant light source to our long journey to Jack's house.

Speaking of Jack, he was mostly silent all the way. He didn't say anything really. I felt the sudden urge to comfort him.

But then again, what could I do. This place wasn't normal, as well as the people living in it. I just saw a freaking one-eyed thing at Chase's home. That was definitely _not_ normal.

I was about to ask Jack anyway. But before I could, a few growling, _inhuman _growling noises could be heard from behind the thick bushes, and before I could react, a great few tigers and lions crawled out of the bushes and surrounded us, along with someone oh-so-very familiar – Chase Young, with the can of dragon soup in his hands.

**A/N: To be honest, this chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. But I hope you like it either way. And sorry for the lack of Chase-ness. I had to stop it there after it went over more than it should. And obviously next chapter, Chase-lovers will be very much excited :3 I'm sorry I neglected this story for awhile. And no, the other new story I wrote ages ago wasn't the excuse. It was mainly school, really. I'll try my best to update more regularly after this. My apologies once again. And don't forget to review!**


	10. Jealous Sea

Chapter 10  
The Jealous Sea

THUD!

_Ouch_… I instantly woke up from an unexpected fall. The room was comfortable, but the fall definitely wasn't. I collected myself by rolling out of the sheets that I was tangled in before I stood up unwillingly and headed towards the bathroom. It was a pleasant day. It was raining, and I loved it. To top it off, it's already nine in the morning and no one had woken me up for breakfast. A wonderful day indeed, in contrast with what had happened last night.

After Chase had caught me and Jack having an affair – I mean, escaping from the citadel (insert sarcasm), he had a little chat with Spicer alone while I was escorted back to the palace by that b**** Sayuki and the jungle cats.

Being the unsatisfied girl with the situation, I yelled at the annoying thing and blamed her for everything but she was calm, ignoring my accusations with ease by simply stating – _"I'm bound to _his_ orders."_ The heck was she on about? I bet it's about submitting to Chase and informing him about my whereabouts. Sounds more like _snitching_ to me.

Just as I arrived at the citadel last night, I hurriedly made myself back to my room and locked the door behind me. I refused to confront anyone after that. And so I retired to bed and slipped into what I assumed was a violent sleep since I found myself on the floor this morning, leading me to my current situation.

I was just about done brushing my teeth when I heard a faint knock on the door. Sighing heavily at who-knows-what could be behind that door, I gurgled quickly to remove any excess toothpaste from my mouth before rushing to answer.

When I turned the handle and opened the door, I instantly felt disgusted, hatred and annoyed. It was her. Miss _Blue_.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed, not wanting to create the right impression for answering her.

She suddenly lowered herself into a bow all the way to the level of her knees. I flinched at her graceful movements. After a few seconds of her display of (hopefully) respect, she retrieved herself and let out a seemingly pitying sigh. "I'm sorry about last night, madam." She apologised, quite sincerely as I would put it.

Whaaa…?

"I'm sorry for letting your stupidity take the best of you until you have done such a mistake. I have failed both my honour and Master Chase Young. My lack of responsibility has led you into your utmost shame."

Oh hell no.

Had she just insulted me while apologising? Clever – but not acceptable.

"Sayuki, why are you even here in the first place?" I ignored her false apologies.

She paused, and seemed to be staring at me for quite a while before replying me. "Master Chase has been very solemn today. Perhaps it may be you upsetting him."

"Isn't that guy just gloomy and unreadable all the time? Are you sure it's not that time of the month for him or something?"

Sayuki shook her head at my rude answer. She didn't seem to take it as offensive at all to my surprise though. Maybe she didn't get it because she was too _blue_.

"Maybe you should send your apologies to him. I would gladly inform him of your realisation for your unforgivable mistakes." She said, smiling.

I just stared at her blankly. Should I yell at her? No, that would just make me look worse than I already was now. Her way of putting words just… made me feel like burying her six feet under. And now her innocent looking smile was overwhelming me with irritancy.

But I had a better idea.

"You know what, Sayuka –"

"It's Sayuki. Get it right."

_Patience,_ Emily…

"Sure, Sayuki. You know what, I'll apologise to Chase personally. You don't have to say anything. You already made me look bad enough. So _thank you_." I had hoped my sarcastic tone would've had an impact on her, but she only smiled. Who knows what she could be feeling behind all that blue skin of hers.

Later that day, I decided to abide by my words. Sayuki had left straight after annoying me in the morning. Way to ruin my day, really. And after an hour or so of trying to make out the vague writings in the mysterious book, I had come to the conclusion. I wanted to apologise to Chase, personally.

And hug him as promised to Jack.

I have always been known for making bad decisions, but that wasn't just it. I was also terrible at staying true to my words. I promised Aunt Lily once that I would take in a child for charity sponsorship – but I didn't. And I felt bad afterwards since she kept calling the agent to make up for my empty promise.

And so here I was, standing on my two feet upon the cleanest, white marbled floor I had ever set foot on in my entire life. I stood here, feeling sorry for myself, eyeing the nearby gazebo where Chase was doing his…martial art stuff? Something like that. Or probably dancing away, I wouldn't know. He moved rather gracefully, every single motion was a matter of great balance. I could tellby his seemingly tranquil state.

But somehow I knew, apart from all those peacefulness that he was aware of my presence. I was very quiet and careful with my foot steps and movements. Come what may; but this man certainly knew that I was near him.

"Umm…Chase." I called out as I came nearer to the gazebo.

He didn't reply. So I tried again.

"I umm, I'm sorry for sneaking out with Jack last night. I just, I just don't get it. Why aren't I allowed to see those Sen Gong Nu for myself?"

…

…

Still, nothing. And I tried again.

"I should be the one angry you know. No freedom, no nothing. Shouldn't have come here in the first place. But I'm sorry, okay?"

..

..

Sick of the silence and irresponsive Chase, who only continued to motion around gracefully with his eyes shut, I did the weirdest thing I haven't done since I came here.

I threw myself onto him. Hugged him. Like a child. And that made him stop dead on his toe. Yes, he was on his toe, while still maintaining his balance despite my intrusive gesture.

Despite the awkwardness I felt at that moment towards Chase, I had not fail to realise that another pair of eyes was witnessing the shameful event. I felt unease as soon as my conscience realised the presence of another living thing in the area. No they were not his jungle cats. My guess – it was either the bitchy witch or the blue bitch.

But I couldn't care less; they had no space in my life at the moment. Not that I see the necessity of them being so important, but I do entirely feel that they were against me, or the least, were unsupportive with the duration of my stay at the place.

I released myself from the hug, and only hoped that my actions were harmless in every way. I wouldn't want to break a cultural tradition of 'no hugs'. But it had to be done. A promise was a promise. And Jack deserved a fulfilled one after what I put him through.

Chase didn't seem daunted by my innocent hug but rather calm and seemingly accepted it. He only looked down on me – since my height – and stared at me blankly, with no indication of any emotion. I couldn't help but to twitch slightly at the awkward silence and began to walk away.

Looking back, he was still there, standing still, not turning back to glance at me. And so I continued to return to my room, thinking about what had just happened. Did he hate me?

I digressed the matter, and focused on what was more essential – my feelings. What would I care even if he did hate me? What I should be asking was – did I like the place? Perhaps I did, but was certainly not comfortable with the dwellers within it. They were weird, unfriendly, and _snitchy_. But who was I to say, I was a weirdo once myself, but I decided to keep it to myself regardless. Informing Chase could mean insulting him which may result in banishment to _'Aunt Lily's Orphanage'_. HELL NO. I would never go back there.

When I reached my room, I noticed something – the door was slightly opened. As I remembered, I didn't leave the door open when I last exited. In fact, I never left doors open. They must be closed at all times – a constant habit of mine. But the real question was who left it opened? The person may be in a rush or purposely left opened slightly. After some detailed inspection of the door, I surrendered my assumptions and closed the door behind me before walking towards the bed. See? – closed doors.

Despite the awkward feeling still lingering deep in my senses after my silent encounter with Chase, I still felt uncomfortable about something else… about the room. I scanned around, making sure I was the only one present.

Though I seemed unnecessarily paranoid, I had the right to be so. I had accidentally 'borrowed' a book from the library, and now I couldn't find it. It was nowhere to be spotted. I searched high and low, but there was no luck. None at all. No doubt someone had entered my _private_ space, and that someone had found the book and took it away for currently unknown reasons.

I turned around to the other side of the bed and pulled open the first drawer, where I had kept the materials. To my surprise, they too were nowhere to be seen.

**A/N: Thanks for reading this far!  
**


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